An historical account of the Diocese of Down and Connor, ancient and modern

GENEALOGY
941.6501
OLld
v. 3

M.L.

GENEALOGY COLLECTION

GEN

ALLEN COUNTY PUBUC LIBRARY

r

3 1833 00675 2023

GENEALOGY
941.6501
OLld
v.3

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2010 with funding from

Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center

http://www.archive.org/details/historicalaccoun03olav

AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

OF THE

DIOCESE

OF

mtm m& ^onnah

ANCIENT AND MODERN.

BY

THE REV. JAMES O'UVBRTY, M.R.I.A.,

Fellow of the Royal Historical & Archceoloqical Association of

Ireland.

PARISH PEIEST OF HOLYWOOD.

"Remember the days of old, think upon every generation : ask thy
father, and he will declare to thee : thy elders, and they will tell
thee," — Deut. xxxii. 7.

VOL. III.

This volume treats almost exclusively of that part of the Diocese
of Connor which is in the ancient territory of Dalaradia.

(Each Volume is Complete in itself.

DUBLIN:

JAMES DUFFY & SONS, 15, WELLINGTON QUAY,
and 1a, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.

18 8 4.

BELFAST :

MOAT BROS., PRINTERS,

ROSEMARY STREET.

[ALL RIUHT8 RESERVED.]

1456340

To

The Most Rev. Patrick Dorrian, D. D.,

Lord Bishop of Down and Connor,

who

by the erection of

Churches, Monastic Institutions, and Schools,

has restored almost to its ancient splendour

The Diocese of Down and Connor,

This Volume

is most respectfully and most humbly dedicated

By the Author.

PREFACE

IN presenting this, the Third Volume of the series, to
the public, the writer is again called on to offer,
not so much an apology as an explanation, for the long
interval which has elapsed since the publication of the
previous volumes. His explanation and apology will be
found, not only in his professional duties which allowed
him little leisure ; but also in the difficulty of visiting the
localities treated of, and of collecting and arranging the
writings of others who treat of them. This is one of a
series of volumes, uniform in size, each of which is com-
plete in itself, and treats of a group of parishes in the
diocese, which are adjacent to one another. The different
volumes are so arranged that a person may provide him-
self with the one which refers to the district in which he
feels an interest, and not to be put to the expense of
purchasing *the whole series. The object of the series is
to present a summary account of the principal events in
each locality, as far as can be collected from the eccle-
siastical history, and the general history of the locality
from the remotest ages ; the antiquities ; the legends ; and
stories of the Irish bards ; the genealogical accounts of
ancient families; the formation and transmission of the
most of the present estates, and other historical associations
connected with the portion of the country to which it

PREFACE.

refers. The present volume treats of that part of the
diocese of Connor which was in the ancient territory of
Dalaradia ; and its scope only exceeds the bounds of that
territory slightly, in the present ecclesiastical parishes of
Larne and Glenravel.

In collecting materials for this volume I found my
labours lightened, not only by the learned work of Dr.
Reeves, on the " Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Diocese,"
but also by " M'Skimniin's History of Carrickfergus," and
a series of most interesting letters on the O'Neill families,
written to the Editor of the ■' Belfast Mereury," by the
late Charles H. O'lSTeill, Barrister, Dublin. The suc-
cession of the Guardians of the Franciscan Convent of
Carrickfergus has been kindly copied by the Very Rev.
M. A. Cavanagh, from the original Chapter Acts ; he
also obligingly sent to me a transcript of Father Mooney's
narrative (MS.) of the Irish Franciscans. The Ordnance
Memoirs for the parishes of the County of Antrim are
inconveniently located in the Ordnance Survey Office in
the Phoenix Park, about four miles from Dublin, though
the Memoirs for most of the other counties are deposited
in the Royal Irish Academy. These Memoirs were written
by James Boyle, Thomas Fagan, F. Stokes, and J. Bleakley,
in the years 1837, 1838, and 1839, and some few of them
in 1840. I was kindly permitted by the colonel in com-
mand to have transcripts made of them. The writers of
them were not, at the date of their composition, skilled
antiquarians ; but they have amassed a vast amount of
information, which could not at present be procured.
Everything in them of the slightest importance has been
incorporated in the following pages.

Though 1 write as a Catholic, and principally 'for

PREFACE.

Catholics, I do not think Protestant readers will find any-
thing in the series to repulse them, or to cause them to
exclude it from their book-shelves. I recognise the kind-
ness shown by many Protestants to their Catholic neigh-
bours, when kindness was valuable, during the dark days of
persecution and earnestly deprecate hostility, where I intend
and feel only kindness and charity. If, in any of my
statements, I have unconsciously been led into error, I shall
be grateful to any one who will point out the mistakes,
and it shall be rectified at the earliest opportunity.

Holywood, March 17th, 188 4.

THE DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

HE River Glashabradin (salmon stream), which falls into
the Lough of Belfast at Whitehouse.is the southern boun-
dary at that place of the diocese of Connor ; and the townlands*
of Druinnadrough, Ballygolan, Glengormly, and Collinward,
though in the civil parish of Carnmoney, belong to the parish of
Shankill, and are in the diocese of Down. The Granges of
Molusk and Umgall and the townland of Ballyutoag, belong
to the diocese of Down, though they are at present incorpo-
rated in the civil parish of Templepatrick. From the
Grange of Umgall to the Grange of Muckamore, the
diocesan boundary is the River Clady ; thence to Lough
Neagh, the southern boundary of the Grange of Muckamore,
is also the southern boundary of the diocese of Connor.
Louch Neagh and the River Bann, to its confluence with
the sea, bound the diocese to the south-west and west,
except at one point, nearly opposite Church Island, where
the diocese of Deny has 1,012 acres in Ballyscullion, though
on the east side of the Bann, from the mouth of that river to
Portrush, the diocese is bounded by the sea ; and from Port-
rush to Whitehouse its boundary is identical with that of
the County of Antrim.

THE PARISH OF WHITEHOUSE.

3*K<

5JT HE ancient Ballyrintollard is now called Whitehouse ; it
1 was so named from a little castle which was erected
to serve as a part of a chain of communications between Car-
rickfergus and the Ford at Belfast. In " A Noate," made in
1574 "of the several Seates for placyng of the Gentlemen
Adventurers for their princypall d welly ngs/' it is stated that
beneath the Cave there are " two little pyles, Mr. Barkley and
Mr. Brunker, distant four miles from Craigfergus." These
were the old Castles of Greencastle and Whitehouse.
Brunker, of Whitehouse, was a soldier who had seen hard
service under Essex and Perrott, but he was not able to keep
his hold on his " little pyle," which thirty years afterwards
was included in the immense territory granted to Sir Arthur
Chichester. In 1636 it was occupied by Thomas Boyde, of
Whitehouse. The troops of William the III. were disem-
barked in 1689 at the Old Whitehouse, which stood near what
is now called u Macedon Point," where some vestiges of an
old house are still shown, in which it is stated, that the king
was joined by the Duke of Schomberg, the Prince of
Wurtemberg, Major-General Kirke and many others. From
Whitehouse the king drove over the Strand to Belfast in the
Duke's coach, drawn by six horses.

A plan of the little pyle of Whitehouse, as it stood in
1839, and as it may still be seen, is given in the MS.
Ordnance Memoir. The castle, or the Whitehouse, con-
sisted of a square building, standing nearly north and

THE PARISH OF WHITEHOUSE. 3

south, 70 feet long and 27 feet wide in the exterior.
Attached to each angle in front is an almost circular tower,
1 1 feet 3 inches in diameter in the interior. There is a
third tower of similar dimensions attached to its rere centre.
These towers communicate with the interior of the building: :
and in those in front there is no door opening from the
outside. The walls are three feet thick ; the height of the
building, which is now occupied as a barn, stable, &c, and
consists of two floors, is from 16 to 18 feet; it is said to
have been originally from four to five stories, and to have
been reduced to its present height about seventy years ago.
The castle is divided into three unequal apartments, separated
by walls which seem to have been carried up the entire
height. The lower story does not exceed seven feet in height,
in the centre apartment the floor has been removed, but in
the others the floors of the upper storys, supported by mas-
sive beams of white oak, from 7 to 10 inches square, still
remain. The building received light through several square
windows, from two to two and a half feet square. In the
lower story are several embrasures, about a foot square in
the exterior, and about four feet from the ground ; in
the apartment at the northern end, is a spacious fireplace,
nine feet wide, and five feet deep. The " brace " or front of
the chimney, is supported by a massive oak beam, about ten
inches square, resting on the walls at each side of the
hearth. The chimney is very wide, but gradually narrows
as it ascends. In the tower at the S. E. end, are the remains
of a much smaller fireplace and chimney. In the upper story
the apartments seem to have communicated by large
doorways. The masonry is substantial, and built in courses ;
several bricks occur in the exterior ; they are of the modern
form, and exceedingly hard and well burned. Slabs of white

4 DIOCESE OP CONNOR.

cak also occur in the interior and exterior of the walls. The-
cement is a coarse and badly burned lime, and very coarse sea-
sand. All the doors and windows are square-headed, nor is
there an arch in the entire building. There are no remains
of outworks. A little to the west of the building are traces
of a pleasure garden, in which is a low mound, 30 feet in
diameter, enclosed by a parapet of stones ; there are also
traces of a fish-pond near it.

At Whitehouse Point are the imperfect remains of an
ancient quay, which is said to have been the usual landing
place previous to the formation of a quay at Belfast. A
few yards to the north-east of the quay is an artificial island
called " Donald's Island," which is now visible only at very
low water. It is supposed to have been connected with the
quay ; it is about 70 feet in length, and about 30 or 40 feet
in breadth. It seems to have been formed on one of the
low rocks, which occur along the coast ; and it is said that the
upper framework is formed of oak beams, squared and fitted
to each other. The tradition regarding it is that it was a
landing place, at which iron-ore was landed, which was
afterwards carried on horse back into the interior of the
country to be smelted. King William is said to have landed
a portion of his army at this island, or at the quay near it.
In the townland of Whiteabbey and within three-quarters of
a mile of Whitehouse there is a trifling swell, which is to
this day known as the Camp Hill, where, it is said, a portion
of William's army was encamped.

The townland of Whiteabbey contains the remains of the
Abbey Church, which gives name to the townland. The
ruin is internally 38 feet 6 inches long, 19 feet 9
iuches wide at the east end, and 20 feet 2 inches
at the west ; the walls are four feet thick and built

THE PARISH OF WH1TEHOUSE. 9

in courses : the side- walls are 20 feet high. In the
eastern gable about nine feet from the ground are three
lancet windows, which are much disfigured by the removal
of the dressings, but their dimensions may be estimated at
7 feet 6 inches in height, 1 foot 9 inches in width outside,
splayed to 5 feet inside. They are pleasingly represented in
a drawing published in Benn's (First) " History of Belfast"
(p. 265). In the north and south side-walls, at the distance of
1 foot 6 inches from the eastern gable, are similar windows ;
these windows are 2 feet from the ground at the outside, and 6
feet from the floor, in the inside of the building ; that in the
south side is now destroyed' and presents an unshapely gap.
The Ordnance Memoir MS., says, " In the south side, and
within 5^ feet of the west gable, are the remains of a square-
headed doorway, which seems to have been 7 feet high, and

3 feet 4 inches wide ; near the centre of the same wall, and

4 feet from the ground, is a square window, measuring 4 feet
6 inches by 4 feet.;' These openings were made in bad taste,
and seem to have been comparatively modern ; they are now
mere gaps. The western gable has almost entirely dis-
appeared, but the aperture for the door still remains,
stripped, however, of its cut stone facings. From what
remains, it is evident that the doorway consisted of several
receding arches, and was a good specimen of early English
work ; but caps, bases, columns, and mouldings have long
since been pounded up and sold by freestone dealers to
whiten hall-door steps in Belfast. The north-west angle is
ragged and looks as if it had been connected with ether
buildings. For a considerable space around, and especially
in that direction, several foundations and pavements have
from time to time been discovered ; among them have been
found several coins of the Edwards, a font, capable of holding

DIOCESE OP CONNOR.

a gallon, a quern, carved stones, a crucifix, ornamented with
the twisted Irish pattern, and a bronze chancel-lamp ; the
crucifix and the lamp passed into the possession of the
late Edmund Getty, after whose death, the crucifix was
purchased by the late Wyville Thomson, who bestowed it to
a museum in Edinburgh ; and the bronze sanctuary-lamp,
which the late Mr. Getty described in the Catalogue of
the Belfast Exhibition of Antiquities, as " an ancient bronze
Incense-burner," was purchased by the writer, in whose
collection it is at present. One of the sculptured stones
found bore the figure of a shamrock ; and another, resembling
a corbel head, was over the door of an adjacent ice-house.
The ice-house and the carved stone have disappeared, but
fortunately there is a drawing of it in the Ordnance Memoir
MS. About 70 yards s.w. was a deep draw-well faced with
stone ; which was filled up and covered in 1836. A pipe
about 18 inches square, built of dry stones, which seems to
have served as an aqueduct for conveying water to the Abbey
from the springs in the hills west of it, was discovered at a
depth of 3 feet from the surface. It was traced at intervals for a
distance of fully 500 yard? from the ruins. The great grave-
yard which surrounded the church, seems to have included
fully an acre and a half. In it many stone-lined graves were
discovered ; which form of interment testifies to the remote-
ness of the period, at which the spot was first selected for the
site of a religious edifice. The Ordnance Memoir MS., says
that a circular fort 90 feet in diametei, stands a few yards
east of the Abbey Church. Every trace of the fort has now
been removed, it was probably one of those funereal mounds,
near which some of our most ancient churches were built.
The present ruin seems to have been erected about the year
1200, but the presence of the mound and the discovery of

THE PAKISH OF WHITEHOUSE. 7

the stone-lined graves show, that the church was erected on
the site of an ancient Irish church of very remote antiquity.
The Itinerary of Father Edmund MacCana or MacCann,
written shortly after 1643, says, "At three or four mile3
distance from Beall-ferst, on the north is an ancient
monastery of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, commonly
called White Abbey, in Irish Mainister-fhionn ; of which
some portions of the walls and the rubbish are all that is
now to be seen. What were its possessions is now forgotten
through the troubles of the times." Ulster Journal, Vol. II.
If the tradition gathered up by Father MacCann, could be
relied on, Whiteabbey was one of the religious establishments
under Templepatrick, but the house seems to have fallen
into obscurity before the suppression of religious houses.
In the grant to Sir Arthur Chichester, it is described as "a
ruinous house, called the Whyte Abbye"

The old Protestant Church of Carnmoney was a por-
tion of the ancient Church of Coole. It stood 30 yards
to the east of the present church. In the Taxation of
Pope Nicholas the "Rectory of Coole" is valued at 10 marks,
and its vicarage at 4 marks. It would seem that Coole
(Irish — Cuil, the corner) was formerly applied to the church
and parish, while the district was named Carnmoney. The
district is represented as extending from the river Glashabradin
to the River of Ballylinny, or the Three Mile Water, and
from the shore of the Lough of Belfast to the River Agha-
solas.* The Terrier enters " Ecclesia de Coole of Carnmonie,

* Aghasolas — -4^-soZais*(pronounced A-solis) — "a ford of light/
Many fords in Ireland were so named, because the ancient Brehon
laws required that there should be at them a signal-light, for the
guidance of travellers ; and there were certain officials appointed,
whose duty it was to take charge of them. See O'Curry's Lectures,
Vol. I., p. cccxviii.

8 DIOCESE OF CONNOB.

the vicar pays in Proxies, three shillings ; Refections, three
shillings; Synodals, two shillings." The Visitation Book
of 1622 records, " Ecclesia de Coole ruynous, rectory
belongeth to the Abbey of Woodbume, and is possest by the
Lord Treasurer" — (Chichester). The old church measured
64 feet by 26 feet, but from foundations discovered
at its west end, the original length appeared to have been 89
feet. The walls were three feet thick, and previous to 1814
they were much higher than they afterwards were ; they were
up to that period pierced by narrow pointed windows. The
ancient well, now tastefully ornamented with a casing of
3ut stone, is near the site. In the older portion of the
graveyard stone-lined graves were frequently found at the
depth of 6 or 7 feet, and were mistaken for drains.

The church, according to local tradition, stood at the
western extremity of a town, which tradition has dignified
by the name of the " City of Coole." It is said to have ex-
tended from this church to that of Whiteabbey, a distance of
a mile and a half. Extensive foundations of houses, quern
stones, causeways, or roads, paved with large and closely laid
stones, seem to show at least that the intervening country
was once densely populated. " The Irish Highway" —
the ancient road from Carrickfergus to Antrim, passed
through Coole. This road, which has been widened, was,
till 1836, one of the leading roads between those towns. A
portion of its north-western end, so late as the end of the
middle of the last century, was only 7 feet wide, and formed
of very large stones, compactly paved. A fine pillar stone
formerly stood to the left of the old road, half-way between
the church and the meeting-house ; but as it obstructed the
plough the industrious farmer buried it. The Earl of Sussex
— the Lord Deputy, on the night of the 8th of July, 1556,

THE PARISH OF WH1TEHOUSE. V

41 camped underneath Banne Vadegane, by Lissetolloh-Arde,
beyond Belefarst," on his march towards Carrickfergus ; and
again on his return — "On Monday night, 27th July, he
removed to Banne Yaddegan, by a towne called Coille, in a
plain betwixt two hills, where he remained to the Monday
following, taking order with the gentlemen of the country,
and expecting further news." On Tuesday, the, 4th of
August, he marched to Crumlin : " we came," says his
Secretary, (t by and up a great hill, called Banne Rory, on
which we might see part of Scotland."

"Not far from this (Whiteabbey)," says Father MacCana,
" is a chapel, which was occupied by some Monks, but to what
religious house or Order it belonged I could not tell, unless I
were to conjecture. In Irish it is called Kill-na-manach, that
is 'Church of the Monks ;' a portion of the walls of the chapel
remains — I may, however, venture the guess that it belonged
to the Monastery of Goodburn, which is about two miles
distant to the east, near the town of Karrick-fergus, on the
bank of the River Good-burn, and only one mile outside
Karrick-fergus on the west." This church is called, in the
Taxation of Pope Nicholas, " E celesta de MonJcetone," and is
valued at 10 marks. The entry in the Terrier says, " Ecclesia
•de Ballymannagh hath 3 towns in Spiritual and Temporal,
and belongs to the Greyabby. It pays in Proxies, two
shillings; Refections, two shillings; Synodals, two shillings —
Lord Deputy hath it — hath some orchards." It would seem,
therefore, that Father M'Cann's guess, that it belonged to
Woodburne Abbey was not correct ; however, there is little
doubt that, in the entry in the Visitation Book of 1 622,
" Capella de Ballemacranaugh, no church nor walls — the
second part of all tithes impropriate to the Abbey of Wood-
burne ; the third part belongeth to the Yicar, valued at

10 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Xs, worth 1£ Xs," Ballemacranaugh is a mistake for
Ballenamanaugh. In the Chichester Grants the three town-
lands are stated to be Ballynamannagh (Monkstown) Cam-
tall, and Ballyjordan (Jordanstown) ; its district extended
from the Ballylinny River, or the Three Mile Water, to the
boundary of the County of Carrickfergus. McSkimin re-
cords a curious local tradition, that Fergus, King of Scotland,
was lost during a storm off Carrickfergus, which was so
named from the circumstance ; and that his body, being
found on the beach, was interred at Monkstown. The
author of the Montgomery Manuscripts thus refers to that
tradition, when writing of the Duke of Ormond's visit to
Carrickfergus in 1666 :

"His Grace stood a good while talking publicly of severall
matters, and enquired if Fergus his body was found, and where
buried ; and there being none that answered, I told his Grace that
Scotts history spoke of its being found, and that a place called
Monkstown (about three miles from thence), claimed the honour of
preserving his remains : but I believe that those Fryars, who built
the very small chappel in that townland (and were not in being till
long after St. Patrick's days) could not show any of Fergus his bones,
but some bodys els instead of them ; and so cheated their credulous
Irish converts and the Highland Scottish votarys, who came over to
see Ireland, and those suppositious relicts of so greate and revered
a man : for real they could not be ; because the grave's hungry
stomach would not have taken time from 330 years before ye birth
of Christ till the later centuries after it to digest that morcell."

Old Montgomery is here in error. King Fergus was a
Christian ; he granted Armoy to St. Patrick, and lived more
than thirty years afterwards. The ancient church is situated
in the townland of Monkstown, which is named from it, and
is 2| miles north of Whiteabbey. The ruins occupy a re-
tired situation, near the base of the precipitous ridge which
impends over the fertile district, extending between it and
the Lough of Belfast. The remains consist of the western

THE PAEISH OF WHITEHOUSE. 11

gable, which is about 16 feet high ; and the foundations of
the church, which measured in the interior, 63 by 17 feet.
The walls are 3 feet thick ; the masonry is good, and is in
courses of two and a half feet, which seems to be grouted
with badly burnt lime. There are no cut or dressed stones
in the building or lying around ; but in 1836, during some
excavations fragments of cut stones, pieces of wood and
mortar were found ; all of which bore evident marks of fiie,
as if the building had been burned. The burial ground is
now under cultivation ; but so lately as the year 1780 it was
a common place of interment, but after that date only the
remains of destitute persons were interred in it. There are
numerous traces of old earthen works — the remains of forts
about it, and along the bank of the rivulet which flows by it,
testifying to the former importance of the place.

Hatha were formerly numerous in the civil parish of
Carnmoney — there are at present 21 such structures, and
20 have been destroyed within the last hundred years.
They are situated within a convenient distance from a
stream or spring, and seem to have been well adapted
for places of abode or defence, or perhaps for both. That
in Jordanstown was used as such in more modern times,
for in its parapets several 10 pound cannon balls and some
lead were found. The situation of the fortress which gives
name to the townland of Dunanney — Dun-eanaigh (pro-
nounced Dunanny), " the fort of the watery place," near
the summit of the very abrupt southern declivity of Carn-
money Hill, and 507 feet above the sea, is very conspicuous.
The form of the fort is elliptic, measuring at the base 94
feet in its major, and 62 in its minor diameter ; its height
varies from 10 to 22 feet from the bottom of the ditch*
which is 18 feet wide. The summit of the fort is encircled

12 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

by an earthen parapet from 1G to 25 feet thick, and from 4
to 7 feet high in the interior. At its south-eastern side this
parapet increases to its extreme thickness and height, for-
ming a circular swell or mound, on which a considerable
quantity of wood ashes was found. The bottom of the
ditch is formed by the rock, as is also the summit of the
fort, which, with its parapet, forms a sort of basin, from
which the rain-water that lodges in it cannot escape, so that
it is generally from one to three feet under water. This
fort almost overhangs the site of the ancient Church of Cam"
money, which is 506 yards south-west of it. Within the last
liundred years upwards of 20 artificial caves have been de-
stroyed, or so closed that all trace of them lias been lost.
The sites of seven are known and have been explored. A
very extensive one was discovered and explored about 60
years ago in a gravelly hill in the townland of Croghfern.
It consisted of 12 chambers, communicating with each other
by means of a narrow pipe, through which a full grown man
could scarcely creep. Each chamber was 21 feet long, 6 feet
wide at the bottom, with sides inclining towards each other,
and about 5 feet high, built of field-stones, and covered with
flag-stones. Paved hearths covered with cinders of wood,
near which were smooth stones, which seemed to hav&
been used for seats, and some half burnt corn were
found in this cave. It stood within a few feet
of a rath. Two other caves which are said to contain
chambers, were also found in this townland, but they are
now closed. In each of the townlands of Dunanney and
Glengormly, it is said, there are two caves. There are also
similar caves in Monkstown, and in Bally ho wn — Baile-
uamhain (pronounced Oowin), — " the town of the cave."
A cave or chamber has been partially, or entirely hewn

THE PARISH OF WHITEHOUSE. 13.

out of solid basalt, in the face of the almost precipitous
eastern declivity of Carnmoney Hill ; the cave measures
11 feet by 8 feet, and its roof, which is raised at the
centre, is 8| feet from the floor; at its entrance the rock
is cut artificially into a form, somewhat resembling the jambs
of a doorway ; at this part it is 7 feet high, and 5 feet wide.
As the rock is almost precipitous, the approach to this cave
is very difficult ; and it does not seem to have been much
frequented. It is in the townland of Croghfern. The Cairn
which gave name to the parish of Carnmoney — Cairn Monadh
(pronounced Carn-mona), " the cairn on the boggy moun-
tain," stood on the summit of Carnmoney Hill, at an
elevation of 785 feet above the sea. The only remains
of it is a large tabular stone, 2J feet broad, and 2 feet
thick. That there was a Cairn there, is only known by
tradition, every trace of it having long since disappeared.

A rude Standing Stone, 13 feet 8 inches high, 2 feet 6
inches broad, and 2 feet 4 inches thick, stands in the town-
land of Ballyhown. About a quarter of a mile to the north
of the church a funereal urn was found, and several similar
urns were found in a rather conspicuous hill, in the townland
of Bally vesey. In the same townland many bronze weapons
have been found. It is said that there was once a Crannoge
in the townland of Ballycraigy ; an oar with a paddle at
each end has been found in what seemed to have been the
bed of a lake.

Ecclesia de Carngran is valued in the Taxation of Pope
Nicholas at 5 marks. This church is entered in the Terrier
" Capella de Carrini Graine, one quarter Glebe ; it is of
Muckamore : it pays Proxies 3 groats ; Refections 3 groats ;
Synodals 2 groats." The Visitation Book of 1622 reports —
" Ecclesia de Carngrany, no chappell, nor walls, but all

14 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

decayed. The 2nd part of all the tithes impropriate to the
Abbey of Muckamore, possessd by Sir Hercules Langford,
Knt." An Inquisition held in the reign of James I.,
found that the church of Carngrany was a parish church ,
and that its parish extended over the townlands of Killgreel,
Ballynabarnish, and Oaigarogan ; the last townland was
then called Ballicarngraney. A portion of the foundation
of the church still remains in the old graveyard of Carngrany,
at the west of the village of Roughfort, in the townland of
Craigarogan. The church measured 50 feet by 24 feet, and
its walls were a little more than two feet thick. Carngrany
(Carn-Grainne, " Grainne's Cairn") is so called from a
remarkable pagan monument about forty perches to the
north of the Rough-Fort, a mound, which gives name to the
village. The monument consists of ten large slabs raised on
other rude stones as supporters ; so that it resembles a series
of Cromleachs, arranged like a rude stair of ten steps,
ascending gradually towards the S.W. The monument is 40
feet in length ; the largest step is at the S.W. end, it is
raised about seven or eight feet ; it is 6 feet 9 inches long,
5 feet broad, and 2 feet thick. The slab on the N. E. end is
the smallest, and is but little raised above the surface of
the ground ; it is 5 feet long, 3 feet 3 inches broad. The
writer of the Ordnance Memoir, written in 1838, says,
" Within the memory of some old people, this temple was
enclosed by two circles of standing stones, which were from
2 to 3 feet high ; the inner circle was about 35 yards, and
the outer one 60 yards in diameter, the stones were at some
distance from each other. It is almost 50 years since these
stones were destroyed, but since that period the temple has
not undergone any change." Monuments of a similar class
throughout Ireland are frequently called Leabthacha Dhiar-

THE PARISH OF WHITEHOUSE. 15

mada is Ghrainne, " Beds of Diarmaid and Grainne," as
•according to popular tradition they were supposed to have
been erected by those celebrated persons for resting or
hiding places.* There is a tumulus about 150 yards south of
the monument, which from its mutilated condition, gives
name to the village of Rough Fort. The form of the
mound was that of a truncated cone, 93 feet in diameter at
the base, and 33 feet at the summit ; its extreme height
above the bottom of the ditch is 29 feet. The ditch varies
from 5 to 9 feet in width, and from 5 to 13 feet in depth
below the adjacent ground. It is said that traces of ramparts
have been remembered about it ; but they have long since
been removed. The mound is chiefly composed of the light
sandy soil thrown up from the ditch. In digging in it, for the
purpose of removing the soil, several ornamented earthen urns
were discovered in it, and hearths paved with stones were
found on its summit. A cave, 25 feet long, which consisted

* The romantic story — " The Pursuit' of Diarmaid and Grainne,"
was one of those tales, which every chief poet was required to know.
The principal incidents were as follows : — " Finn, in his old age
solicited the monarch Cormac Mac Art for the hand of his celebrated
daughter, Grainne ; Cormac consented, and Finn attended by his
chosen warriors, among whom were Oisin, his son ; Oscar, his grand-
son ; and Diarmaid O'Duibhne, came to Tara, where they were enter-
tained at a sumptuous banquet. Grainne, who did the honours of her
father's court, sent round to all the guests, except Oisin and Diar.
maid, a precious cup filled with the choicest liquor. The liquor was
drugged, and soon all, who partook of it, fell into a heavy sleep. Grainne
then conjured Diarmaid by his vows of chivalry to save her from
becoming the wife of a man so old as Finn. Diarmaid consented, and
when the monarch and Finn awoke from their sleep their rage was
boundless. Finn assembled all his warriors in pursuit of them, and
the pursuit lasted for years and extended over all Erin. So that
the description of it embodies a great amount of curious information
on topography, social manners, and more ancient tales, and
superstitions."

16 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

of two chambers, constructed in the usual manner, was
formerly in the townland of Craigarogan, but it was
demolished upwards of 50 years ago. There is a tradition
that there was formerly a castle at the village of Hough
Fort.

The interior of a Rath in the townland of Kilgreel is said
by tradition to have been a graveyard. It is about 75 feet
in diameter, and encompassed by a parapet 3 to 4 feet high,
large stones said to be a ruined Cromleach, also remain in this
fort ; portions of the parapet have been wholly removed.
" Within memory," says the Ordnance Memoir, " there
were extensive caves near the old burying ground, they have,
however, been partly demolished, and are now covered over
with earth." In the townland of Kilgreel there are the
remains of an ancient enclosure, surrounded by a parapet.
Its form was quadrangular, measuring about 67 by 22 yards.
The portion remaining is enclosed on three sides by a parapet
from 3 to 5 feet high on the exterior, and from 5 to 8 feet
broad, which is formed by large stones and earth. There
seems to be only one course of stones. They are closely laid
in some instances and preserve a good dressing in the
exterior ; but more than one half of them have been removed.
They vary from 2 to 4 feet in length, and are laid
longitudinally. The entrance to the enclosure is at the
southern side. It is 5 feet wide and is faced by a stone at
each side. The interior is a bare rock, with scarcely a grain
of earth on it, a little rivulet flows diagonally across the
enclosure. Near the centre of the enclosure, as it was
originally, stand 4 stones, measuring respectively 64 feet,
6 feet, 4 feet, and 3| feet.

The grange of Ballyrobert, which contains 883 acres, is
incorporated in the civil parish of Templepatrick. The

THE PARISH OF WHITEHOUSE. 17

church is not entered, at least under the present name, in
the Taxation of Pope Nicholas. The entry in the Terrier
is " Capella de Ballyrobert is of Muckamore ; has one
quarter glebe ; it pays, Proxies, three shillings ; Refections,
three shillings ; Synodals, two shillings." The Visitation
Book of 1622 reports, " Grangia de Balle Robert, the
second part of all tithes impropriate to the Abbey of
Muckamore, possest by Sir Hercules Langford. Knt." "The
remains of the old grave-yard were dug up several years
ago in the farm of Edward Gilmore. The foundation of
what was supposed to be the church, and several broken grave-
stones were dug up. All trace of this burial ground is now
obliterated." Orel. Mem. MS., (writte?i in 1837).

Church of Ballymartin. "Ecclesia de veteri villa" "the

church of old town," is valued in the Taxation of Pope Nicho-
las at 24/4. Oldtown would be Shanbally, but as there is no
place in the neighbourhood which bears that name, Dr. Reeves
supposes that it is Ballymartin. " The graveyard is situate
in a little glen, on the north side of the Ballymartin "Water
not far from the eighth milestone, on the new road to Belfast.
In it are the foundations of the churcb, measuring 54 feet
by 18 ; and in the adjoining ground are the seeming vestiges
of very ancient buildings, where tradition says a town once
existed " — Eccl. Antiq. The Terrier enters it " Ecclesia de
Ballymartin, one townland glebe, it pays Proxies, ten
shillings ; Refections, ten shillings ; Synodals, two shillings.
A rectory of my Lord Deputy (Chichester)." The entry in
the Visitation Book of 1622 is merely "Ecclesia de Bally-
martin— ruin." The Ordnance Memoir MS. says, " the
burial ground occupies a quadrangular space of about 150
feet by 100, and is thickly studded with graves; near
its centre are the foundations of the church which stood

B

18 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

a point to the north of east, by south of west. It
measures in the extreme 56 feet by 22 feet, and its walls,
which appear but a little above ground, are 4 feet
thick. The doorway seems to have been in its northern
side, at the distance of 13 feet from its western end.
The stones, which are rather large, are cemented by a
very coarse mortar. Contiguous to the western end of the
church is a circular earthen mound, about 3 feet high, and
20 feet in diameter. There is a small spring well on the
opposite side of the river, which is said to have been, in old
times, resorted to from all the surrounding districts, on
account of its miraculous virtues ; even within memory,
persons came here, erected sheds, and having confined the
water in ponds, bathed themselves in it.* On the bank ot
the Ballymartin River, and opposite the graveyard, is the
mouth of an artificial cave, which, it is said, extended to the
ancient town. Its mouth is 8 feet above the bed of the
river, and about 10 feet from the summit of the bank ; 170
yards further up the stream is a circular Fort or Rath, 10
feet high, 75 feet in diameter at the base, and 60 feet at
the summit ; it has neither ditch nor parapet. There are
traces of several ancient roads in the vicinity of the church.
One of them, it is said, led to the ancient town called Mac-
Garrystown, which stood on the opposite side of the river,
and about 250 yards from the church. This town, which is
said to have been inhabited by a powerful sept named Mac-
Garry, was, according to tradition, destroyed in the reign of
Elizabeth by the English, because the inhabitants slew a

* "There are," says the Ordnance Memoir, "two old men (Presby-
terians), who still believe in the properties of the well, and are in
the habit of using it ; but from a dread of incurring the character of
being superstitious they resort to it privately, and deny that they
did so."

THE PARISH OF WHITEHOUSE. ] (J

detachment of artillery, which had halted for the night at
Roughfort. When the new road, which runs over the site
of the ancient town, was being made, extensive foundations
were dug up: stone hatchets, flint arrow-heads, silver coins,
between 20 and 30 querns, iron and bronze weapons, and
numerous other articles were discovered ; while in the fields
around it similar articles, besides hearths formed of pave-
ments, and burned corn, have frequently been found." The
townland of Toberagnew, a detached portion of the civil
parish of Ballymartin, takes its name from a remarkable
well. The water is pure and limpid, and is confined in a
circular space two feet in diameter and one foot deep, which
is lined at the sides with carefully laid stones. It is con-
sidered a Holy Well, but all traditions regarding it are lost.
It is probable that a small chapel existed in this townland ;
both the well, and the circumstance of its being detached
from the body of the parish to which it belongs, induce to
this conclusion.*

PRIESTS.

The district which constitutes the Administratorship of
Whitehouse, consisting of the portion of the diocese of
Down already treated of, and the civil parish of Carnmoney
in the diocese of Connor, was incorporated in the parish of
Shankill, or Belfast, until the year 1854, when Father Ryan
was appointed Administrator.

Rev. Patrick Ryan is a native of the parish of Ballycahill
in the County of Tipperary. He entered the college of
Thurles in 1842, where he studied Classics, Philosophy, and
Theology ; he entered the second years' Divinity Class in the

* The boundary between the Parishes of Whitehouse and Bally-
clare is not yet definitely settled.

20 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

College of Maynooth, in August, 1848 ; and was ordained in
June, 1851, in the Convent Chapel of Mullingar, by the
Most Rev. Dr. Cant well. He was appointed immediately
afterwards Curate of Glenavy, from which he was appointed,
in March, 1852, to the curacy of Bally mena. After the
death of Father O'Heggarty he was appointed, on the 1st of
August, 1852, Administrator of Ballymoney, from which
he was appointed to Whitehouse, on the 13th of March,
1854.

CHURCHES.

There are in the district of Whitehouse two churches :
one in Greencastle, which is situated in the diocese of
Down, and one in Whitehouse, which is in the diocese of
Connor. The church in Greencastle was dedicated by the
Most Rev. Dr Crolly, on the 20th of May, 1832. The
sermon on the occasion was preached by the Bishop, from
Revelations, iv. 11. The collection amounted to nearly £50.
The date-stone bears the following inscription : —

Erected

by

Wm. Crolly, D.D.,
1831.
The church of St. Mary, Star of the Sea, which was
erected by Father Ryan in Whitehouse, on a site bestowed
by the late Mr. Joseph Magill, is of the early pointed style
of architecture. It consists of a nave and aisles with
chancel and side chapel, and a tower at the west end of the
south aisle. Each aisle has a porch. The walls are built
of black stone, relieved by cut stone dressings of a light
colour. The nave has a polygonal panelled ceiling,
spanned at intervals by curved wood ribs which spring from
wall-shafts, and support the roof ; the ceiling of the chancel

THE PARISH OF WHITEHOUSE. 21

is arched and panelled. The aisles open into the nave by
lofty arches, supported on pillars of freestone; and the
lightness of the dividing arcade gives an appearance of
spaciousness and unity to the interior. The nave is lighted
by a clerestory of foliated windows, by a triplet of lofty
lancets at the west end, and by a couplet of lancets sur-
mounted by a wheel-window at the east end of the chancel.
The aisles have a series of two-light windows ; the chancel
and chapel are floored with encaustic tiles of various colours :
the altars and reredoses are of Caen stone with columns
and inlays of marble ; the high altar, supported on four
marble columns, presents three sculptured groups in the
interspaces; the reredos is about 18 feet high; the
lower part of it is diapered, the upper portion shows
an arcade of 8 niches, and the whole is surmounted by a
cornice : while in the centre a canopied throne rises to the
height of nearly 30 feet. The altar of the chapel of Our
Lady has a front ornamented with Mosaic panels ; the lower
part of its reredos is inlaid ; and in the upper part is a central
niche containing a statue of the Virgin and Child, on each
side of which are groups, carved with subjects from the Life
of the Virgin. The font, which was presented by the
architect, Mr. John O'Neill, of Belfast, has a circular bowl,
ornamented with inlaid panels, and supported on marble
columns. The interior of the church is complete, but the
tower and spire are unfinished ; when the spire is completed
it will be about 180 feet high. The church was dedicated
on the 12th of May, 1867, by the Most Rev. Dr. Dorrian,
and the sermon on the occasion was preached from the 19th
chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke, by the Most
Rev. Dr. Kieran, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of
all Ireland. The collection on the occasion amounted to
nearly £700.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS.

If N its early history the principal importance of Carrick-
'\ fergus centres round its Castle. That building, though
comparatively small, and though considerably debased by
modern incongruous additions, possesses great interest as
the only existing fortification, in the kingdom, which exhibits
a specimen of the old Norman military stronghold. The
Castle is, by most, supposed to have been erected by John de
Courcy, to whom Henry II. had granted all the territory he
could conquer in Ulster, reserving to the king homage and
fealty. This military adventurer carried with him a colony
of Anglo-Normans — the Sendals, Bensons, Jordans, Cope-
lands, Russels, Whites, and Savages ; and though the
descendants of these foreigners no longer reside in Carrick-
fergus, Jordanstown, bordering on the county of the town,
the Copeland Water, Whitesland, Sendal's Park, just
outside North Gate, and Savage's Castle, the site of which
is still remembered, testify how they once flourished under
the protection of the Castle. Others attribute the building
of the Castle and the permanent planting of the Colonists to
Hugh de Lacy, whom King John created Earl of Ulster, in
1205, and on whom he bestowed the estates acquired by De
Courcy, who, through the machinations of his enemies, was
then a prisoner in the tower of London. The site of the
Castle, a rocky peninsula, about 30 feet high, shelving
considerably to the land and washed on three sides by the
sea, from which it is of easy access, must at all times have

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 23

presented peculiar facilities for the erection of fortifications.
Old traditions account for its name by saying, that King
Fergus, who may be said to be the founder of the Scottish
Monarchy, was drowned here, and that the cause of his
coming was to drink of the waters of the well now within
the Tower of the Castle. It is said that his followers interred
his body in the Church of Monkstown, but the most lasting
memorial of his name is Carrickfergus. — " the Rock of
Fergus." Jealousy, occasioned by his good fortune, soon
excited the enemies of De Lacy, who accused him of
rebellion. King John hastened to punish his ingratitude,
and, though he effected his escape, the King, who arrived
at Carrickfergus on the 19th of July, 1210, besieged and
captured the Castle, into which he threw many of De Lacy's
barons and adherents, seized on their lands, and only granted
them their liberty, when he had wrung from them the last
penny they were able to pay. He placed in the Castle a
garrison under the command of De Serlande, and sailed
from Carrickfergus on the 29th of July, in a ship of
Bayonne, which carried him to Holywood. De Lacy
recovered, in the following reign, the royal friendship, and
Carrickfergus again became the capital of Earls of Ulster.
In 1260 the English interest was imperilled by Brian
O'Neill, but he fell in the battle of Downpatrick, and the
townsmen of Carrickfergus were not slow in assuring the
King of what service their loyalty had been. The earldom
passed by marriage through the De Lacys to De Burgo.
Lord Edward Bruce, in the year 1315, at the invitation of
the Irish Chiefs landed at Olderfleet with a large army, and
was soon joined by many disaffected Irish and Anglo-Irish.
The adherents of the English were defeated in a great battle
fought near Connor, and many of the fugitives sought

24 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

safety in the castle, which they bravely defended against the
Scotch. Edward Bruce, who had in the meantime caused
himself to be proclaimed King of Ireland, left a portion of
his troops to carry on the siege of Carrickfergus, while he
marched with the main body of his army towards the south,
but as summer advanced, he made his appearance once more
before the town. Thomas Mandeville, on the 10th of April,
1316, succeeded in throwing reinforcements into the Castle ;
and the garrison was thus enabled to annoy the Scots in the
neighbourhood. Early on the following morning Mande-
ville made a desperate sally on the Scotch ; but one, Neill
Fleming, a man of uncommon intrepidity, by sacrificing
himself and his party, saved the Scotch army. Mandeville
himself was killed by one Gilbert Harper ; and few of his
companions escaped to the fortress. Eventually the Eng-
lish offered to surrender ; and thirty Scots, who advanced to
take possession of the Castle, were treacherously made
prisoners. When, however, Robert Bruce landed at Carrick-
fergus with reinforcements, the siege was pressed with greater
vigour, and the Castle surrendered towards the end of
August, not before the garrison had endured the horrors of
famine, and even, it is said, had eaten the Scotch prisoners.
The Scotch continued to hold Carrickfergus until Edward
Bruce was killed, in May, 1318 ; shortly after which Robert
arrived in Carrickfergus, but learning the total failure of
the cause he returned home. The next important events in
the history of the town were the troubles ensuing on the
death of William de Burgo, Earl of Ulster, who was mur-
dered, near Belfast, by his own retainers, in 1333. The
English interest in Carrickfergus seems to have been so
powerless, in consequence of these disturbances, that the
Irish crossed the Bann, and made permanent settlements

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 25

close to the town ; and in 1386 the Scots came and burned
the town. Soon after we find the Mayor and Burgesses
requesting assistance from the Lord Deputy to rebuild their
town. The Deputy, by an order, dated April 20th, of the
following year, directs the Treasurer of Ulster to remit to
them the rents of the corporation, " to build and repair the
said towne, totally burned by our enemies, and the enemies
of our Lord the King — the Scotch," In less than sixteen
years a similar fate again befel it, and again the King ex-
onerated the Mayor, Burgesses, &c, " from paying the said
revenue (100 shillings), due to us for the space of one whole
yeare ; witness, &c, second day of July, 1402." We are
told that, in 1408, Adam Gilmore, being forced to fly before
his enemies, betook himself to the Friary ; but as he him-
self, the year before, had robbed that sacred building of the
iron of its windows and doors, his enemies found no diffi-
culty in seizing him and wreaking on him their vengeance.
Though the English power had nearly died out in almost
every part of Ulster, still it held a firm footing in Carrick-
fergus. The Annals of the Four Masters record — 1426,
" Brian Ballagh (the freckled) Mac I-Neill Boy, the most
distinguished man of his own time for hospitality and bounty,
knowledge, and skill in various sciences, was killed by the
herdsmen of Carrick (Carrickfergus) ; John, the son of
Henry O'Neill, was slain along with him." The Mac
I-Neill Boy was the official title for the Chief of the
Ciannaboy Colony of Derry and Tyrone men, who were
then, by the right of their own good swords, masters of all
the territory extending from the Ravel to Lecale, with the
exception of Carrickfergus, and a few other forts, behind the
walls of which the English sheltered themselves. It is more
than probable that Brian O'Neill (the freckled), was

26 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

engaged, at the time he was killed, in driving from the
Commons " a prey of Cattle," belonging to the freemen of
Carrickfergus, nevertheless, the Chieftains of Clannaboy
continued for nearly two centuries to exact, in punishment
for his death, a cattle fine from the unfortunate burgesses.
This imposition was called by the people of Carrickfergus
Breyne Balafs Erich * In 1481, John Bayne, the Mayor,

* Eric, or Eiric, was a fine or composition. The word is perhaps
derived from an old word Erca — cows, or cattle, with which the fine
was generally paid. The most remarkable Eric of this class was the
Boromean Tribute. — Tuathal Teachtmar, monarch of Ireland, who was-
afterwards slain in the year 106 in the glen, where now stands
Ballygowan Chapel, had two beautiful daughters, Fithir (Feeir),
and Dairine. The hand of the younger, Dairine, was obtained by
Eochaidh (Eoghy), King of Leinster, but some time afterwards he
repented of his choice, and resolved to obtain by a stratagem the
other daughter. He imprisoned his wife in a secret chamber of his
palace at Naas, and repaired to Tara ; where he told the monarch
that Dairine was dead, and expressed his anxiety to continue the
alliance by espousing Fitheir. Tuathal consented ; and Eochaidh
returned again to JSaas with his new bride. Sometime afterwards
the imprisoned lady contrived to make her escape ; and the deceived
3ister on seeing her alive fell dead of shame. Dairine, no less
affected, returned to her solitary chamber, where she died of grief.
The monarch of Erinn, on hearing of the untimely deaths of his two
daughters, immediately ravaged all Leinster, and compelled the
king and his people to bind themselves and their descendants for
ever to the payment of a triennial tribute to the monarch of Erinn.
The stipulated tribute was to be five thousand ounces of silver, five
thousand cloaks, five thousand fat cows, five thousand fat hogs, five
thousand wethers, and five thousand large vessels of bronze. This
tribute was called the " Boromean tribute," so named from the
Gaelic word Bo, a cow ; or the cow tribute. The heavy penalty,
which was the fruitful cause of wars and bloodshed, continued to be
exacted during the reigns of forty monarchs of Ireland, until about
the year 680, St. Moling persuaded the king to relinquish it. The
tribute was, however, revived and levied by Brian Boroimhe (Boru),
and it was from this circumstance he was named Boroimhe, or Brian
"of the cattle tribute" — the victor of Clontarf, a.d. 1014.

THE PARISII OF CARRICKFERGLT3. 27

was joined in a commission with otheis, to form a league of
friendship with Donald Gorme, Earl of Eoss and Lord of
the Isles, who was then in rebellion against his lawful prince,
James V., King of Scotland. In 1503 the Lord Deputy,
Gerald, Earl of Kildare, demolished the Castle of Belfast,
which was then held by the Irish ; he placed a strong
garrison in Carrickfergus, leaving one Stanton, Constable of the
Castle and Governor. In 1545 the town was garrisoned by
the forces under the command of Thomas, Earl of Ormond.
In 1551 the Lord Deputy, Sir James Crofts, set out from
Carrickfergus on his unfortunate expedition against the
MacDonnels in Pathlin. In 1552 Hugh Mac Neal Oge of
Clannaboy, having submitted to the English Government,
petitioned to be allowed to have secular priests in the
Franciscan Monastery, where many of his ancestors were
interred. In 1555 the Scots laid siege to the town, which
they continued to invest until the Deputy, with a large
force, arrived on the 18th of July, 1556, and defeated
them with great slaughter. Sir Henry Sydney, on this
occasion, slew one M'Donnell, the commander of the
Scots. Sir George Stanley, who had distinguished himself
in this battle, was made Lieutenant-Governor of Ulster ;
and the Deputy " having decreed something to the
advantage of the public peace in the city of Knock-
fergus," and left ample stores for the garrison, returned
to Dublin. In 1568 the Lord Deputy, Sir Henry Sydney
arrived here, to whom Turlough Lynough O'Neill,
chief of Tyrone, came and made submission. Captain Piers,
the Governor, did signal service against the Irish. In 1573
the Corporation lodged a complaint against Thomas Smith,
Governor in the absence of Captain Piers. They state that
he had hindered their trade, and request leave to sell their
" wynes, aqua vitse, cloth, saffron, salt, and such like, to any,

28 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

rebells as well as others," adding that the inhabitants " are
become so pore, as the thirde parte of the said town is ruynate."
The Corporation records relate, " 1573, in this year, the 2nd
day of June, was the town of Knockfergus for the most part
destroyed by fire, by reason of Captain Smyth's departure
out of the same with his force, not leaving sufficient force to
defend the same, by Sur Brian M'Phellirue (O'Neill)." . , .
" In the same yeare, aboughte the 20feh of August, came the
right honourable the Earl of Essexe into this land, as Lord
Governour of the Province of Ulster, accompanied with many
a lusty gentleman, and landed in the towne of Knockfergus."
Another entry in the records of Carrickf ergus testifies to the
blackest deed done by Essex— " June, 1575. In this said
month Sur Brian M'Phellinie and Howry Oge M'Quillan were
executed in this towne." They were treacherously taken pri-
soners in O'Neill's Castle of Belfast, by Essex, who was then
enjoying O'Neill's hospitality. In the same year, General
John Norryes sailed hence to Rathlin, where he committed a
terrible butchery of the inhabitants. On the 6th of Sep-
tember Sorlebuye M'Donnell attacked the town, but was
repulsed ; he, however, slew Captain Baker, several officers,
and about one hundred soldiers, together with an alderman
the town clerk, and fourteen other inhabitants. The Lord
Deputy, Sir Henry Sidney, came in October and relieved
the town ; writing on the 14th of November, he says, u The
towne of Carrickf ergus I found moche decaied and im-
poverished, no ploughes going at all, where before were
manye and great store of kyne and cattle, beloynge to the
towne, now few or none lefte, churche and housies, saving
castells burned, the inhabitants fled, not above five house-
holders of any countenance left remayninge." Yet they
were comforted to hear that the Queen intended "to wall the
towne." 1578, the Lord Deputy and Council wrote to the

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 29

Mayor, ordering the people to " redie and order the walles,
towres, rampires, and dyches." 1581, the Lord Deputy
wrote to the Mayor, prohibiting the townspeople to pay an
annual exaction, called " Breyne Balafs Erick," which they
were necessitated to pay to the Chief of Clannaboy, as a
punishment, because Brian Ballagh O'Neill had been slain
by the people of Carrickfergus nearly two centuries ago. In
1583, according to the records, many marauding excursions
were made on the town by the O'Neills and M'Donnels, per-
haps because it had not paid the Erick. In 1583, two
merchants of Carrickfergus having been plundered by the
M'Donnels, the Queen complained to James VI. of Scotland,
who promised that persons making excursions from Scotland
into Ireland would be guilty of treasou. 1591 — Lord
Deputy Fitzwilliam issued a commission to settle disputes
between the inhabitants of the district and Charles Egerton,
Constable of the castle. 1592 — there is among the records
a copy of a proclamation issued by Christopher Carleill,
governor of the Clandeboys, respecting the holding of
markets. The most curious portion of which is, that it
assures persons coming to the markets with commodities,
that they shall be so far protected, from Friday evening till
Sunday, that their goods cannot be arrested for the debts
of their landlords or of themselves. 1594 — Captain Lee,
writing to the Queen, tells her, that the English forces in
"Knockfergus and Clandboyes" amounted only to 100 foot
and 25 horse. These were so badly paid, that they mutinied,
that same year, for want of provisions. In 1597 James
M'Sorley M'Donnell slew Sir John Chichester, governor of
Carrickfergus, and the most of the garrison in the battle of
Altfrackin. Sir Arthur Chichester distinguished himself, in
the commencement of the 17th century, by extraordinary

30 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

zeal against the Irish, not permitting any feelings of humanity
to stay his sword, provided only the natives were ex-
terminated, and as much as possible of their lands con-
ferred on himself. In 1605, Con O'Neill, of Castlereagh,
was confined in the castle, from which he escaped to Scotland,
where he entered into arrangements, by which the lands, ex-
tending from the Lagan to the Lower Ards, passed into the
hands of Hamilton and Montgomery. In 1606, the Lord De
puty, Sir Arthur Chichester, directed the Mayor to levy " ten
good and marketable beeves" on the Corporation, for the use
of the army ; for which beeves they were to receive £1 6s 8d,
each, in " harpes," when the money would come from Eng-
land. The neighbourhood of Carrickfergus shared in the ex-
citement aroused in Scotland by the disputes between Prelacy
and Presbyterianism. In 1640, the disaffected in Scotland
intending to invade the northern parts of Ireland, an army
of 8,000 foot and 1,000 horse was assembled at Carrickfergus
by Wentworth, Earl of Strafford ; 8,000 of these troops
were Irish Catholics. This enrolment of an army of " Irish
papists," which he was accused of intending to bring over to
support the King against his subjects in England, was one of
the principal accusations brought against the unfortunate
Strafford. Arthur Chichester, governor of the Castle, as-
sisted by Colonel Arthur Hill, took precautions, lest the
town would fall into the hands of the Irish, on the breaking
out of the great rebellion. Sir Phelim O'Neill intended to
make himself master of it, but his forces were routed at
Lisburn, to defend which Chichester had brought a contingent
of 300 men from Carrickfergus, and supplies of powder were
sent from the Castle by express on horseback. On the night
of Sunday, January 8th, 1642, some soldiers and others
sallied out of Carrickfergus and perpetrated the fearful

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 31

massacre in Island Magee. On the 1 5th of the following April,
2,500 Scottish troops, under General Robert Munroe, arrived
here, and, agreeable to previous articles, the town and Castle
were delivered to their charge. Munroe immediately com-
menced several great military expeditions, in one of which,
assisted by the forces of Sir John Clotworthy, he burned
Glenarm and plundered the country of 5,000 cows. After-
wards, having visited M'Donnell, Earl of Antrim, he was
hospitably entertained by the Earl, and the Earl offered his
services to maintain the peace of the country, but Munroe
treacherously carried him off a prisoner to Carrickfergus
Castle, whence, after six months imprisonment, he escaped
into England. The Irish were now terribly distressed by
famine, which produced a pestilential fever, that swept off
many of their enemies. It is stated that 2,500 persons died
of this pestilence in Carrickfergus alone. On the 4th of
August, Alexander Leslie, Earl of Leven, arrived in the town
from Scotland, bringing with him the remainder of the
Scotch auxiliary forces, but the country was so far denuded
of provisions, that they were obliged to bring supplies from
Scotland. In 1643, the Earl of Antrim was again confined
in the Castle, having been taken in a vessel near Newcastle,
County Down. On the 11th of June, the King wrote to the
Earl of Leven to liberate Lord Antrim, which Leven refused.
Antrim, however, made his escape (see Castle Robin, Down
and Connor, Vol II). A vessel arrived at the quay onthelstof
of April, from Zealand, with a contribution of provisions for
the distressed Protestants. Munroe, however, seized on the pro-
visions for his soldiers, saying that " they were the most dis-
tressed Protestants." About this time four "kirk ministers"
arrived from Scotland "to press and tender the Covenant."
The Covenant was taken by the entire garrison, except Major

32 DIOCESE OF CONNOE.

Dalzael ; and by many of the inhabitants. The Government
issued a proclamation, which they forwarded to the Mayor,
against the Covenant. The proclamation was disregarded,
for the Scots were now disposed to the cause of the Parlia-
ment. On the 14th of May, 1644, General Munroe marched
hence with about 2,000 men and surprised Belfast, which
was held for the King. Tn November, 1646, Munroe and
the Scotch had so far changed sides, that they refused to allow
soldiers and commissioners sent from the Parliamentary party
even to land ; and in the following year a considerable por-
tion of the garrison was withdrawn to Scotland to assist in
the invasion of England, though these troops were paid by
the Parliament. The adherents of the Commonwealth were
so highly exasperated at the conduct of these vacillaters, that
Sir Price Coghrun and Colonel Cunningham, who had then
joined General Monk, made a forced march from Lisburn, on
the night of the 12th of September, 1648, across the moun-
tains, and at daybreak arrived at the gates, which they found
unguarded ; they easily seized the Castle and sent Munroe a
prisoner to England. It was generally supposed that Munroe
had connived at this. The Parliament, to reward Monk, pre-
sented him with <£500 and appointed him governor of the town
and Castle. About the end of June, Carrickfergus was besieged
by Montgomery, Lord Ardes, who, disgusted with the fanati-
cal conduct of the Covenanters, suddenly had espoused the
Royal cause, and the town and Castle were surrendered to
him, on terms, on the 4th of July. The conduct of Mont-
gomery very much offended the Presbytery of Carrickfergus
who on the 26th of June, prior to the surrender, wrote to
him as follows : — " We must be faithful in warning your
lordship (though the Lord knows what business it is to us)
that the Lord will reward you, if you repent not for such

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 33

a betraying of the faithful servants of God, who could have
plucked out their eyes for you ; and the Lord will visit your
family with sudden ruin and irreparable desolation, for that
you have been so grand an instrument to destroy the work of
God here." November 2nd, 1649, Thomas Daly el I agreed to
surrender Carrickfergus to the Parliamentary forces, under
Sir Charles Coote and Kobert "Venables ; and the latter was
made governor. In 1650, the Presbyterian ministers, having
changed sides, displeased the Parliamentary party by their
zeal in praying for the royal cause. Venables seized as many
of them, as he could lay hands on, and confined those of the
county of Antriui in Carricktergus ; and those of the county
of Down were sent to prison in Belfast. In the same year
Coote executed here George Sexton, Quarter-Master-General
to the Irish army, under the Bishop of Clogher. This execu-
tion took place after that army had been defeated near
Letterkenny. It will be observed that the Irish or Catholic
party, notwithstanding what their opponents did, are the only
persons who then, or even- now, are called rebels. In 1662,
Miles Grey, a Quaker, was taken up by Colonel Meredith for
"exhorting" on the streets, and on the following day he was
banished from the town and beaten by George Spring, gaoler,
as he drove him thence. In 1666 the garrison, urged by star-
vation, mutinied, and chose one Corporal Dillon for com-
mander. They sent a copy of their grievances to the Earl of
Donegal, who strove to induce them to submit. Towards the
end of May the Duke of Ormond arrived with ten troops of
horse ; and his son, the Earl of Arran, arrived in the Dart-
mouth frigate with four companies of foot guards. In the even-
ing of the 27th a general assault was made on the town, the
Earl of Arran attacking it by sea and Sir William Flowers by
land. The mutineers then retreated into the Castle with the

c

34 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

loss of Dillon and two others, but so many of the mutineers
deserted, that their number was reduced to 120 men. On
the next day they surrendered. On the 30th, 110
persons were tried, nine of whom were executed, and
the others sent to Dublin, whence they were transported.
The Duke was publicly thanked by the House of Commons ;
and the Corporation received the thanks of the Government
for their loyalty on the occasion. It appears, that such were
the hardships oi the soldiers before they mutinied, that being
kept without pay upwards of three months, and being re-
fused food by the shopkeepers, whom they were unable to
pay, they were forced to live on such fish, as they could find
on the shore, and even sea plants which they boiled. The
common hangman fled from the town, saying, that " he would
rather be hanged himself than hang men, who had been so
badly treated." A townsman named James Spring per-
formed the office on being promised, by Sir William Flowers,
£5 for each man, but the money never was paid, A reprieve
came for all, a few hours after they were executed. 1688.
About the beginning of March, a number of Protestant noble-
men and gentlemen, the chief of whom was Lord Blaney, as-
sembled at Hillsborough, and formed a design against
Carrickfergus, then held by a garrison for the King, James
II. The design failed, through the treachery of some of the
conspirators. In January, 1689, a plan was formed by the
Protestants of Belfast to surprise Carrickfergus, then held
by the Earl of Antrim for the King ; 150 Protestants of
Sir Thomas Newford's regiment, then in Belfast, were to
have marched to the town pretending that they had been
sent to assist in garrisoning the town, and when admitted
they were to seize the gates and admit others of their party.
This plot also failed through the timidity of some of the

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 35

leaders. On the 21st of February, 1,000 men marched from
Belfast, but finding the garrison prepared for them they
retired. On the 13th of August, Duke Schomberg arrived
in the Lough with a fleet of about 90 vessels, having on board
near 10,000 men; and the same evening commenced to dis-
embark his troops at Groomsport. The Irish troops in
Carrickfergus burned the suburbs, to prepare for a siege.
The Duke took possession of Belfast, which was evacuated
by the Irish, who retired towards Lisburn. On the 20th,
Ave regiments of foot were sent to besiege Carrickfergus,
which was then garrisoned by the regiments of Colonel
MacCarty More and Colonel Cormac O'Neill. On the 21st
of August, 1689, seven other regiments were sent; they
almost surrounded the town and began to cast entrenchments
and plant cannon and mortars. The following account of the
siege is from An Impartial History of the Wars of Ireland,
by George Story, an eye-witness : — m m e~ g? (>>*<• f\

" The Town desired a Parley, and sent out Lieutenant Gibbons,
with Propositions in Writing. He presented them very submissively,
and the Duke went into a Tent to read them ; but when he found
they desired time to send to the late King for Succours, or leave to
surrender, he sent the Paper out, and ordered the Lieutenant to be
gone ; and then their Cannon plaid directly at the Tent where he left
the Duke, doing some Damage thereabouts, but the Duke was gone
abroad. Our cannon were as ready as theirs, for we begun to play
upon my Lord Donegall's House in the Town, on which the Enemy
had planted two Guns which disturbed our camp. Before next
morning our men drew their Trenches several Paces nearer the Wall,
which occasioned very warm firing on both sides all Night. We lost
some men, and had two Officers wounded ; and a Drummer, that
made his escape over the Wall, gave the Duke an Account that there
were about thirty killed in the Town that Night.

Thursday, the 22nd, was employed in running the Trenches
nearer, the Mortars and Cannon still playing upon the Town, and
upon the Half- moon, that was to the right of the Castle. This Day

36 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

oame a Fleet of about Fifty Sail into the Lough, which brought over
four Eegiments of Foot, and one of Horse. The day and night were
spent in smart firing, four Regiments of Foot mounting the Trenches.

Friday, the 23rd, the Besieged desired another Parley, and would
have marched out with Bag and Baggage, Drums beating, and Col-
ours flying, &c. ; but the Duke would allow no other Terms, but to
make them Prisoners of War. During this Parley, the Duke visited
all the Trenches, and observed the Walls of the Castle ; and a poor
Dutchman was shot from the Walls, making his Returns to Re-
proaches against the Prince of Orange, our King, saying — That their
King was a Tinker King, he had nothing but Brass Money : He was
not nimble enough at getting off when the Parley was over, and so
lost his Life for his Jest's sake. After this the Duke gave orders for
the Engineers and Gunners to go on as vigorously as possible. Be-
fore we had only two Batteries, one in the Windmill Hill (with
Mortars), before the castle, Westward ; the other of four Guns,
against the North-gate. The Duke then ordered a very large Mortar
to be placed under the Walls, upon a New Battery, near the Lord
Donegall's House (with two Small Guns) which did great Execution.
This Night was spent in continual firing of great and small Shot, and
next morning the Town was all over smothered with Dust and Smoak
occasioned by the Bombs. Collonel Richards was carried to Belfast,
being wounded in the Trenches the Night before ; and there was one
Mr. Spring that made his escape out of the Town, who told the
Duke — That all the Soldiers lay continually on the Walls, so that the
Bombs only plagued the Protestants in Town ; as also that Mackarty
Moor, and Owen Mackarty were the only two that hindered
the Town to be surrendered ; and that they resolved, if we stormed
the Town, to retire all to the Castle, in order to which they had
laid in great store of Corn, Beef, Salt, and other Provisions propor-
tionable. He gave also an account, that they were straitned for Am-
munition, having only at first 30 or 32 Barrels of Powder, with other
things suitable. This Afternoon several of them were observed to be
busy on the top of the Castle. It was believed at first they were
planting Guns there, but we understood afterwards that they were
pulling off the Lead to make Bullets.

Sunday, the 25th, The Siege continued, and the Breaches were
made wider, particularly one" a little to the East of the North-gate ;
and yet the Irish were very industerius in making up at Night what
we beat down in the day.

Next morning our Guns plaid furiously, and the Breach (notwith-

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 37

standing all their cunning) was increased ; which the Irish seeing,
and fearing that our men would enter, they found out this stratagem,
viz. , They got a great number of Cattle, and drove them all as near
the top of the Breach as they could force them to go, keeping them
selves close behind them ; and this served ia some measure to secure
the Breach ; for several of the Cattle were killed by our shot, and as
they fell, the Irish threw Earth, Stones, and Wood upon them ; but
this, they thought, would not hold long, and so they desired another
Parley, which the Duke would not hear of, but ordered the Mortars
-and Cannon to play without ceasing, and the Men-of-war had orders
to play their Guns from the sea upon the Castle, which so terrified
the Irish, that at Six a Clock next morning, they put out their
white Flag again, and sent their Proposals to the Duke, which at
length he agreed to, having more business before him, and the Sea-
son of the Year beginning to alter. He gave them leave therefore to
march out with their Arms, and some baggage, and they were to be
conducted with a Guard to the next Irish Garrison, which then was
Newry. " *

* Articles of Agreement beticeen Frederick, Duke of Schomberg,

General of Their Majesties' Forces, and Colonel Charles Macko.rty Moore,

Governor of Carrickfergus, August 27, 1089.

I. That the Garrison shall march out with flying Colours, Arms, lighted
Matches, and their own Baggage, to-morrow, by Ten a clock.

II. That in regard the Garrison are in such Disorders, none be admitted into
the Town, but such a Guard sis we think fit to send to one of the Gates, which shall
immediately be delivered to us, according to the Custom of War.

III. That the Garrison shall march out to-morrow, by Ten a Clock, and be con-
ducted by a Squadron of Horse to the nearest Garrison of the Enerny ; and there
shall be no crowding nor confusion when they mai'ch out.

IV. That nothing be carried out of the Town which belongs to the Protestants
•or other Inhabitants.

V. That the Governor obliges himself to deliver all Cannon, and other sort of
Arms, Munition, Victuals of any kind, into the hands of such a Commissary as shall
be ordered by us to receive them, to-morrow morning.

VI. That if there be any thing due from the Garrison to the Inhabitants of the
Protestant Religion, it shall be paid ; and what has been taken from them shall be
restored.

VII. That a safe Conduct for all the Inhabitants of the Countrey, and such of
the Roman Catholic Clergy that came for shelter to this Garrison, shall be allowed,
that the}- go to their respective habitations, together with their Goods, and there
be protected, pursuant to King William's Declaration, bearing date, the 22nd of
February, last past.

VIII. That care shall be taken of the sick and womided men of the Garrison
that cannot go along with their Regiments ; and that when they are in a condition
to follow the rest, they shall have our Pass.

SCHOMBERG.

38 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

" When firing ceased on both sides, several of our Officers went
into the Town, and were treated by the Irish with Wine and other
things in the Castle, and the Articles were scarce agreed to, till
Mackarty Moor was in the Duke's Kitchen, in the Camp, which the
Duke smiled at, and did not invite him to Dinner, saying, If he had
staid like a Soldier with his men, he would have sent to him ; but if
he would go and eat with Servants in a Kitchen, let him be
doing.

We took possession of the Stores. The Irish had but one Barrel
of Powder left, tho some say they threw several more into the Sea to
save their Credit.*

On Wednesday, the 28th of August, about Ten o'Clock, the
Irish marched out, and had Sir William Russel, a Captain in Collonel
Coy's Regiment, with a Party of Horse, appointed for their Guard ;
but the Countrey people were so inveterate against them (remember-
ing how they had served them some days before) that they stript most
part of the Women, and forced a great many Arms from the Men ;
and took it very ill that the Duke did not order them all to be put
to Death, notwithstanding the Articles ; but he knew better things ;
and so rude were the Irish Scots that the Duke was forced to ride in
among them, with his Pistol in his hand, to keep the Irish from
being murdered. The poor Irish were forced to fly to the Soldiers
for protection, else the Country people would have certainly used
them most severely ; so angry were they one at another, tho they
live all in a Countrey. However, this was laid at the General's
door, by the great Officers in the Irish Army, and they would say,
That he had lost his Honour, by engaging in so ill a Cause. The
Governor of the Town was Mackarty Moor, but Owen Mackarty had
a great Ascendant over both him and the Garrison. The Garrison
consisted of two Regiments of Foot, lusty strong Fellows, but ill
clad, and to give them their due, they did not behave themselves ill
in that Siege. They had about One Hundred and Fifty killed and
wounded in Town, and we had near that number killed, and about
Sixty wounded. "

Leaviiig Sir Henry Inglesby's regiment in garrison here,
the army marched for Belfast, on the 28th of August, 1689,

* The London Gazette, No. 2,5S2, informs us that at the time of this surrender,
there were only 14 pieces of cannon meanted, no ammunition, 250 barrels of oats,
315 stone of wool, but no provisions. Wool was formerly, used to cover soldiers.
f rem the effect of small arms.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERUUS. 39

and the heavy artillery was shipped for Carlingford. During
ing the siege the Mayor, Richard Dobbs, was committed to
prison by the garrison, who conveyed to him there all the
Records and Charters of the town. William III, landed at
the quay, on Saturday, June 14th, about 4 o'clock in the
afternoon. A large stone at the point of the quay is still
called King William's Stone, from his having set his foot
on it when landing. He was accompanied by Prince George
of Denmark, the Duke of Ormond — grandson of " the un -
kind deserter " — and many persons of distinction. The King
walked through part of the town, and about half-an-hour
after landing set off in Duke Schomberg's carriage for Belfast.

The history of the town after this date assumes a more
peaceable character.

1760, Thursday, February 21st, Commodore Thourot, of
the French Service, arrived in this Lough with the
« Bellisle," 44 Guns ; " Le Bland," 32 ; and "Terpsichore,"
24 • and proceeded to land between 700 and 800 men at
Kilroot Point. The men were then formed into two divisions,
and immediately advanced by different routes to attack the
town ; the one crossing the fields towards the North-Gate,
and the other by the Scotch Quarter, or Water-Gate.
Lieut. -Colonel Jennings, who at the time was in command of
the garrison, had under his authority only a detachment of the
62nd Regiment, mostly recruits, at first intended not to
defend the place on account of the ruinous condition of the
Castle ; however, on Willoughby Chaplan, the Mayor, threat-
ening to report his conduct to Government, he determined
to offer resistance. General Flobert, Commander-in-Chief
of the enemy, was wounded in the leg, about the centre of
Scotch Quarter ; his party, however, succeeded in entering
the town by the Water-Gate, while the other party having

40 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

forced their way, with the loss of an officer and some men,
through North-Gate, both parties reunited in the Market
Place. They now proceeded to assault the Castle, and forced
in the Upper Gate, which had not been sufficiently secured
by the troops after their hurried entrance. They were,
however, soon driven back with loss, and the officer, who
led the advanced division was slain.* The garrison having
now expended their ammunition capitulated on honourable
terms. The capitulation was signed in the house of William
Wilkinson, High Street. The garrison had only two killed
and three wounded. One was killed on the Half-moon, and
from the wound being in the back of the head, it was
believed, that he had been shot accidentally by some of those
who fired from the top of the Castle. The enemy had about
50 killed, among whom were three officers, and about the
same number of wounded ; their killed were buried close by
the Castle, in the ground lately a garden. Frida}7, February
22nd, an officer bearing a Flag of Truce was sent to Belfast
to demand provisions to the amount of about £1,200, and
to declare, that ii they were not immediately sent, they
would burn Carrickfergus and Belfast. It was agreed to
comply with their demand ; and two lighters were sent from
Belfast, that evening, with a part of the provisions, but,
as the weather was rough, they could not sail. The French
liberated all the prisoners confined in the County of Antrim
Prison, but they refused to liberate the only prisoner in the

* When the French were advancing from Water-Gate, through
High Street, and the firing was very brisk between them and the
retreating garrison, a child two years of age, Thomas Seeds, son of
the Sheriff, ran between the two armies, this officer took up the
child and after carrying it into the nearest house, resumed his hosti-
lities. It is said that he was of a noble family, and that his name
was De Esterees.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 41

Prison of the County of the Town — a woman charged with
the murder of her own child.

Saturday, Feb. 23, a flag of truce arrived from Belfast
■explaining the cause of delay in forwarding the provisions.
One of the lighters sailed that evening, but was stopped in
Oarmoyle by a tender ; the French began to threaten, and a
flag of truce and another letter were despatched from Rev.
David Fullerton, praying the Sovereign of Belfast to send
the provisions lest the town should be burned. Early on
8unday, Feb. 24th, some cars with provisions and a number
of live bullocks arrived from Belfast; the lighter also arrived,
^nd the French were engaged in getting on board provisions
and water. Monday, Feb. 25, the enemy continued their
preparations for departure.

Tuesday, Feb. 26, the French sailed from the quay, carrying
along with them the Mayor, the Port Surveyor, George
•Spaight, and the Rev. D. Fullerton ; the latter gentleman,
being indisposed was landed at Kilroot; the others were on
board the Belleisle when that ship was taken the following
Thursday. Both were treated by M. Thourot with the
utmost politeness. They had scarcely left the town when the
advanced guard of the English force arrived from Belfast.
The French Squadron was attacked on the 28th, off the Isle of
Man, by the "(Eolus," "Palas," and "Brilliant" frigates, under
the command of Captain Elliott. Commodore Thourot* was

* Thourot's name was Farrell, his paternal grandfather, Captain
Farrell, was an officer in the army of James II. , his son was reared
among his maternal relatives in Boulogne, where he was called by
their name, he became a great smuggler, and his son, from his
fifteenth year, followed the same avocation, in partnership with an
Irishman named Farrell, a relative of his. He also became a servant
in the families of several Irish Noblemen, among others in that of
Lord Antrim, and resided in Glenarm until he joined another band

42 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

killed in the action, in which, the French had nearly 300
killed and wounded, while the English had only 3 killed
and 31 wounded.

The usual addresses from the Grand Jury and from the
inhabitants were presented to the brave garrison ; and the
people of Belfast congratulated themselves on their courage
in not sending the provisions !

1770. About the beginning of this year the Hearts of
Steel, under pretext of redressing grievances, such as the
high rents of lands, terrorized over the inhabitants, burning
houses, houghing cattle, &c. They levied contributions, by
writing letters, commanding persons to lay the sums
mentioned at a certain place. The place which they
selected as their receiving depot was the Priest's Bush, on
the Commons. In 1771 the mayor organised 70 volunteers
among the inhabitants, and succeeded in apprehending, at
the Priest's Bush, Stafford Love and seven other Hearts of
Steel, who had come to receive the money. They were,
however, suffered to escape. 1772, May 9th — four Hearts
of Steel were executed in the town. May 16th — four
Hearts of Steel were also executed ; and on the 1 9th of
September one of the leaders of that orginization was
executed here.

1778. April 20th, the "Banger," an American vessel,

of smugglers. His knowledge of the coasts and the influence of M.
Tallard, the son of his god-mother, obtained for him the command
of a sloop of war, and eventually he was, in 1759, promoted to the
command of the squadron, with which he invaded Ireland. A
ballad was written and published in Carrickfergus in 1760 by one
William Magennis, called "The Siege of Carrickfergus." A play
was published in Belfast, under the same title, in 1764 ; and a
pantomine was presented on the Belfast Stage in 1770, called
"Thourot, or the Siege of Carrickfergus."

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 4$

commanded by the celebrated Paul Jones, arrived at the
entrance of the Lough ; a fishing boat, belonging to the
Scotch quarter, went alongside, the crew of which were
immediately made prisoners. These men were examined
by Paul Jones, regarding the force of the garrison, and the
number of men carried by a vessel of war, named the "Drake,"
commanded by Captain Burden, which was lying opposite
the Castle. He then lay off till night, when he intended to
board the " Drake." Flood tide and a brisk gale, during a
snow-storm, prevented him laying the " Ranger" alongside
the " Drake." He then sailed to Whitehaven, where he
burned several vessels in the harbour, and spiked the guns
on the batteries. At ten o'clock, on the morning of the
23rd, he arrived off St. Mary's Isle, near Kidcudbright, and
landed with about 40 men, intending to take Lord Selkirk,
but that nobleman being absent, he contented himself with
demanding his plate, which was delivered up to him. Early
on the morning of the 24th, he was at the mouth of the
Lough, where he captured a boat belonging to the " Drake,'
which had been sent to reconnoitre. Shortly afterwards the
" Drake" bore down upon him, about mid-channel, and an
engagement commenced. Captain Burden was killed early
in the action, and after an engagement of an hour and
fifteen minutes, the English vessel was forced to strike to
the American. The English had two killed, and twenty-
five wounded ; the Americans had three killed, and five
wounded. The comparative force of the vessels, with re-
spect to guns, was nearly equal. The English vessel carried
twenty guns, four pounders ; the American vessel eighteen
six pounders, besides swivels. Paul Jones carried his prize
to Brest, where Lord Selkirk's plate was sold ; but Jones
purchased it, returned it to Lord Selkirk, and even paid its

44 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

carriage home. 1798 — Carrickfergus was disturbed by
alarms and agitations, and [several of the inhabitants
arrested, yet very few of the inhabitants were in arms at
Antrim or Dimagore Hill, though a number of persons had
assembled in the Commons, intending to march to the
rendezvous, but hearing of the disasterous news from Antrim,
they retired to their homes.

CORPORATE AFFAIRS.

Excepting the area and precincts of the Castle, the whole
of the lands occupied by the town, and those within the civil
parish, constitute a jurisdiction separate from that of the
County of Antrim. The incorporation of the County of the
Town is ascribed by tradition to King John ; but it is not-
recognised by any Charter earlier than one of the 11th of
Elizabeth. In 1325, mention is made, that "John De Athye
is appointed Sheriff of Cragfergus and Antrim." In the
Down Survey it is called " the County Palatine, of Carrick-
fergus." According to the records of the town, the ancient
rent paid to the Crown was " the rysing of one man, with
a bowe without a stringe, and an arrow without a feather."
In the 7th of Elizabeth, Sir Henry Sydney caused the
Mayor to lay before him the ancient Charter, and, according
to the records, he "detayned the Charter." Four years
afterwards he obtained from Queen Elizabeth a new Charter,
as, according to the records, " his highness promised, in
lieu of the former Charter, the walling of the towne, build-
inge of the peare, and allot such ancient lands as by former
Charter were held." The Charter of Elizabeth being found
imperfect and obscure, James I. granted another in 1612.
By this Charter the government of the corporation was vested
in a mayor, sheriffs, aldermen, burgesses, and commonality.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 45

The mayor was to be elected annually, from the aldermen,

on the first Monday after Midsummer, and to enter on office

at Michaelmas. He was to be chosen by the aldermen,

burgesses, and commonality. The aldermen were seventeen,

and elected themselves. The sheriffs were chosen from the

burgesses in the same manner, time, and place, as the mayor.

There was formerly no limit to the number of burgesses,

but about 200 years ago, the Assembly restricted their

number to 24. The mayor, aldermen, and burgesses,

formed the Assembly, which made the bye-laws for the

government of the Corporation. The mayor was sworn

into office by the Constable of the Castle. On that and

other state occasions he wore a scarlet robe ; and a sword

was carried before him by the sword-bearer, and a mace by

a sergeant-at-mace. The mayor was vice-admiral of the

seas, from Beerlooms to Fairhead (the Pool of Garmoyle

excepted), and could claim for the Corporation " all wrecks

of sea," within these limits, " for ever." Formerly, after the

mayor was sworn into office, a bull was fastened to a ring

in the market place, and baited with bull-dogs. In the

evening many persons were entertained in the town hall, at

the " Mayor's Feast." The annual salary of the mayor was

anciently the Corporation share of the customs of the port,

if it amounted to £20 annually. He had also the privilege

of selling wine in his house, which was prohibited in 1601.

The salary was gradually augmented, until in 1767, it became

£100. In many old leases, the tenants were bound to

furnish fat hens and capons to the mayor, each Christmas.

The owner of west mills was bound to " grind all such grain

as shall be spent in the mayor's house, all free." He had

the tongues of all bullocks or cows, killed on Fridays for the

Saturday markets, and when trooper-land was unoccupied

by the military, he claimed the grass as a perquisite.

46 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

The Recorder appears to have been always elected for life,
by the entire body corporate ; his salary in 1593 was £20
per annum. There were two sheriffs, one of whom was
always nominated by the Mayor, and the other was elected
by the Corporation. Their salaries in 1601 were £6 13s. 4d.
each, but they were afterwards raised to £20 each. There were
two coroners, who were elected by the Corporation on the
same day as the Mayor; their only perquisites arose from
the inquests, for holding which, their fee was £1 6s. 8d.
The Charter empowered the Corporation to appoint one
honest and discreete man to be town clerk. In 1606 his
salary was £4, at no time was it higher than £10 per annum.
There were foar sergeants-at-mace ; whose salaries were
each £4 per annum. One of these was water-bailiff. The
Corporation also appointed a trumpeter, at the yearly salary
of £2 10s. a fiddler, at £1 10. and a drummer, at £1 5s.
per annum. Previous to the Union with Great Britain,
the Corporation returned two burgesses to serve in Parlia-
ment ; but since that period only one is returned. The
Corporation had the privilege of making freemen at will :
according to tradition, birth, marriage, and servitude were
the ancient claims to the freedom of this Corporation ; that
is, the sons of freemen, or persons married to the daughters
of freemen, or persons who have served apprenticeships of
"seven years," within the franchises. The Charter of 10th
James I. authorised a guildry, under the name of " The
Two Masters and Fellows of the Guild Merchant of the
Town of Knockfergus," and sanctioned the formation of
various subordinate guilds, or fraternities. Such guilds as
existed in modern times, were those of the hammermen, the
weavers, the carters, the tailors and glovers, the butchers,
the trawlers and dredgers, the hookers and the shoemakers
or cordwainers.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 47

The landsb elonging to Carrickfergus and anciently granted
to the corporation were shamelessly lost to the public. On
the west, the lands of Straid, and Little Ballymena, otherwise
Lisglass, were formerly within the liberty, but because
these lands were formerly commonable and at the extremity
of the county, the people of the County of Antrim, who
resided near the niearing, encroached on them by grazing
their cattle on them. In 1630 a lease for ever of Little
Ballymena, at £2 per annum, was granted to William Penry,
whose tenants had already encroached on them. This lease
having been surrendered, a similar lease, at the same rent,
was granted, in 1708, to Charles Crymble. This lease was
inherited by T. B. Adair, Esq., who sold "the encroached lands
of Ballymena," in 1820. The adjoining lands of Straidland
met a similar fate, being encroached by the tenants of John
Dalway. The corporation granted, in 1635, leases of these
lands to the tenants, who had encroached on them; eventually
a lease for ever, at an annual rent of £6, was granted of these
lands, in 1722, to Francis Clements; in 1789, they passed by
inheritance to Henry C. Ellis. According to a Map drawn
up 1859, by Robert Young, Esq., C.E., Little Ballymena
and Straidland belong to Lord Downshire, who is also
possessed of Stradnahanna, Reachill, My Lord's Mountain,
O'Kane's Bog, Four Score Acres, Slievetrue, Nine Score
Acres, Bryantang, The Quarterland, Ballylaggin, Ardboley,
and Lyndon's Park. A tract within the Tnogh of Braid
Island called formerly "the mountains of Orland Water" paid
no rent to the corporation, but it pays cess to Carrickfergus,
and it formerly paid tithes to the lector of Carrickfergus.
The townland of Crossmary held by Lord Donegall from the
Dalway family, paid tithe to the rector of Carrickfergus,
though in every other respect it was considered a part of

48 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the parish of Kilroot. The corporation granted to Sir A.
Chichester, all the lands from the Deer's Lane to the Ford
of Bruslee. In 1685, lands, mearing on Magheramorne, were
granted to John Dalway ; and his descendant is entered on
Mr. Young's Map as possessor, in 1859, of Slieinaroe. In
1652, lands in Seskinamaddy were leased to Edmund Davysr
and 80 acres and other lands, in the same place, were leased
to John Bull worthy. These, according to Mr. Young's
Map, were held, in 1859, by Duncan Wilson. All these lands
were originally commonable. In 1747 it was agreed, at a
meeting of the Corporation, that the commons should be let
off, save 200 acres reserved for turbary ; again, in
1754, it was agreed to let them off to William M'Cartney of
Belfast, but this arrangement was not carried out. In 18 OS-
several plots of the commonable grounds, by the different
road sides, were let off to Noah Dalway, Marquis of Down-
shire, Henry C. Ellis, Sir William Kirk, and others, who
held the adjoining lands. From the rents arising out of the
entire property, the different officers of the corporation were
paid their salaries.

Carrickfergus was deprived of its old Corporation, with
all its mediaeval grandeur, by the Muncipal Corporation Act,
passed in 3rd and 4th year of Her Present Majesty, whereby,
the body politic of the Borough — Mayor, Sheriffs, Bur-
Burgesses, and Commonalty was dissolved, and the powers
and duties were vested in the Muncipal Commissioners, elected
under the provisions of that Act. These Commissioners, in
1835, obtained, in the Incumbered Estates Court, a Con-
ditional Order for the sale of head rents payable out of premises
in the town and county of Carrickfergus, and of the Common-
able lands, consisting of five small plots of ground along the
road leading from Carrickfergus to Belfast, and of the

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 49

great commons. The various affidavits of the freemen,
who opposed the Conditional Order, testified, that from time
immemorial the Freemen had grazed those lands, and had a
right to the turbary on them, particularly along the banks
of Lough Mourne, without paying to the Corporation any
rent ; and that the Corporation was only trustee for the
property, which was held by it for the use of the freemen.
Moreover, that the attempt to sell the property was for the
purpose of depriving the freemen of their privileges, which
they derived from ancient Charters and Customs ; and, in
proof of this assertion, they asserted that arrangement could
easily be made for the payment of the incumberances on the
corporate property, which appear to have amounted only
to £780, while the annual rents of the property, exclusive
of the commonable, lands amounted to <£354 0s. 5d. The
Muncipal Commissioners, on the contrary, asserted, that the
Corporation was the real owner of the property and did not
hold it in trust for the benefit of the freemen ; in proof of
this, they asserted that the Corporation had, at various times,
leased and sold parts of this and other corporate property ;
that any benefit accruing from putting cattle upon the
lands had been monopolized by a few individuals, whose
lands adjoin the commons, some of whom had formed
themselves into a committee, who permitted any resident in
the borough, whether freeman or not, to send his cattle to
the lands provided he paid the toll required by them ; that
on the registry of voters 1226 persons were entitled to vote,
and of them 760 were registered as freemen ; and that of
these freemen only about 100 possessed any cattle what-
ever. The case was carried by appeal to the House of
Lords, which, in I860, decided against the freemen.

The territory called the County of the Town of

D

50 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Carrickfergus is thus set forth in an inquisition held on the
12th of October, 1601.

We doe finde that the Lands auncientlie belonginge unto the
Corporacion of C. Fergus, is Sittuated & bounded within the meares
& markes followinge, viz. : From the North East ende of the Sd.
Towne leadinge by the Sea Side unto a Stream or Small River called
Copeland watter, which devideth the Townes landes & the lands
belonginge to the Bisshopp of Downe and Connor, and then from the
Sea Side alongst by the Sd. watter Side, to a forde called
Annagullmyn (alias Clubbes-forde), beinge North North West, from
the enteringe of Copelaude watter into the Sea, which Forde is the
furdest part & boundes of the earrable landes, medowe, and pasture
that appertainethe to the Same Towne that waye — And from the
Said Clubbes Forde west South-west directlie alongst a meare and
ditche Syde to the South ende of Loughmoorne.

And So contenewinge from thence, full west South-west, to a hill
called Carnehus shock e (alias Lark's hill), and to a hill called
Carnesolloghe — And from thence Still dividinge the Earrable landes,
medowe, and Pasture from the Comons, South-west directlie to
little Dunecrowe, and over the Forde of Larbricke, South-west, to
the Forde of Turnegrawee, alongst the back of the Knockaghe, to a
meare or mark called Faserisneey (alias the Deare's layne), which is
also the furdest part & boundes of the Earrable landes, medowe, and
pasture belonginge to the Towne that waye— A.nd from thence
turninge South, to a small Streame or River called Lysnashemer,
which runethe South into the Sea, and devydethe the Townes landes
and the Earles medowe — And from thence leadinge by the Sea Side
North East, unto the foresaid Towne of Carigfergus. We do also
finde, that the Comons for graising, Turbrie, Heathe, and all other
Fewells, reatchethe from the above-named Forde Annagullmyn
(alias Clubbes Forde), North North West over the moorie, Heathye,
& Boggie hills to a forde called Avalley-shione (alias Johnstowne's
forde),* beinge the uttermoste parte & boundes of the Saide Comons
that waye — And from thence leadinge to an oulde Stone wall called
Ralowe — And from thence directlie West South-west to a Hill called
Browsley, which is also the uttermost Part & Boundes of the Comons
that way — And from thence, turninge South, to the fore-named meare
or marke called Faseris-neey (alias the Deare's Layne), which is all
the boundes of the Comons belonginge to the Same Towne. All
which landes, within those boundes, markes, and meares before
* Avalley-Shione, now Ballyshane, or Johns-Town.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 51

mentioned, with all woode underwoods, Bogges, Heathe, Medowes,
pastures, Cornons of graising and Torburie, doth auncientlie belonge
and appertaine to the Towne & Corporacion of Carrigfergus, & ever
in their manurance, graising, and Possession.

Within which boundes there is a rewenated & decayed Abbaye
called Goodburne, & St. Bride's Hospittall, called the Spittall Howse
(which is found to be her Majestie's), with a Small quantetye of
landes to them belonginge, which are bounded Severallye within
themselves. In witness whereof we have hereunto Subscribed our
names & annexed our Seales, the 12th daye of October, anno Dom,
1601."

The boundaries as established by James I. are as follows —

" Oh the eastern side a small river called Copeland Water, is the
boundary of said land near Broden-Island, from the bay of
Carrickfergus aforesaid, as far as until the said river runs into
another river called Orland Water, and from thence the boundary of
the said land extends through the middle of the said river of Orland
Water, as far as the lough called Loughmorne, and so by the
south-west bank of said lough, and so from the extreme X. W. point
of said lough the boundary of said land runs directly near the
mountain called Red- mountain, as far as the foard of Aghnehawly,
on the borders of the territory of Bellenowre, and from thence to the
head of tho Red-river, and so far. And thence, through the middle
of the bog of Seskenemeddy, and so to the long stone called Carcain,
and from thence to the three stones called Slewenkrioven, the
limits of Ballinlyny, and Ballynowre, aforesaid, and to the bog on
the Glynn of Altnabredagh, on the limits of Ballinlyny, and so to
the Carneshalagh, on the limits of the territory of Carntall, and from
thence as far as Altballimanagh, and so to Fasser-neagh, alias the
Deer's-lane, and from thence as far as the head of a certain small
stream called Silver-stream, and the lands of the town of Knockfergus
alias Carickfergus, aforesaid, which river, beginning near
Fasser-neagh, aforesaid, is the western boundary of said lands, and
runs between the same and the territory of Carntall, aforesaid, as
far as the bay of Carrickfergus, aforesaid ; and also that the entire
scope, ambit, and precinct of land and water, within the limits,
meares, and bounds, above-mentioned and expressed, belongs to the
Corporation of Knockfergus, aforesaid. "

Tradition states that to prevent any encroachment on their
lands it was formerly customary for the Mayor. Sheriffs, and

52 DIOCESE OF CONNOB.

the different incorporated trades, to ride the franchises at
least every seven years. In July 1740 they were ridden by
Henry Gill, Mayor. This riding was strictly aggreable to
the boundaries established by Charter of Elizabeth. He
rode from the foot of Copeland-Water to Beltye, to the
Raven's-Rock, and Glenoe, alias Johnston's Ford, through
Kaloo and the Village of Straide ; from thence in a direct
line to Bruslee-flush, taking in Straidland, and that part of
Little Ballymena that paid rent to the Corporation. The
last riding was by Sir William Kirk, Knt., August 1st,
1785, it was neither in conformity to the boundaries
established by Elizabeth nor James I., yet it still remains
the acknowledged franchise. The following is the record of
this riding —

" At a riding of the Franchise of the County of the Town of Carrick-
fergus, on Monday, the 1st of Auyust, 1785, pursuant to notice
given by order of William Kirk, Esquire, Mayor of said town, for
the time being.

It is found the lands at present subject to pay cess and other
Taxes, to said Corporation, are all situated and bounded within the
mares and marks following, viz. :

From Town N. E. to the Copeland-water, bounded by the sea,
nearly N. N. W. up the course of said water to the Copeland bridge,
bounded on the N. E. by the bishop of Down and Connor, and on the
S. W. by Ezekiel Davys Wilson, Esq.

From Copeland Bridge up said river to the foot of Crossmary,
bounded on the N. E. by Conway Richard Dobbs, and Mariot
Dalway, esquires, and on the S. West by Ezekiel Davys Wilson,
esquire.

From Crossmary, nearly N. N. W. to Clubb's ford, or pound, and
from thence to a gate the entrance of the Parkmoss, called
M'Ferran's gate, from which through the middle of said Moss,
bounded by Mariot Dalway esquire, on the S. W. by Richard G.
Ker, esquire, on the N. E. to Johnston's ford, about twenty perches
below the Ladies' Causeway.

From the upper end of said Moss round John Calbraith's house,
which is the farthest limit of Corporation, that way.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 53

From John Calbraith's house about W. by Craigbuy farm, to the
Dead Wife's Grave, bounded on the N. W. by Lord Dungannon, and
on the S. E. by Mariot Dalway, Esquire.

From the Dead Wife's Grave, by a stone ditch over a small river
to the corner of a ditch near the Priest's Cairn, and thence nearly
west to the old wall of Raloo, within about fifty perches of the
Standing Stone, and then between Mr. Lyndon's and Mr. Dobb's
land, to George Patterson's house.

From said George Patterson's, going nearly south, and keeping Mr.
Ellis's and Capt. Crimble's estate, which they hold from Conway
Richard Dobbs, esquire, to the westward, and turning westwardly
along the wall that divides Mc. Cann's field from the Englishman's
Mountain, at which place there has been great encroachments made
oa the Corporation, from said place to the Standing Stone.

From the Standing Stone along said mountain to three lying stones
commonly called the Three Brothers.

From the three lying stones about W. N. W. along a ditch on the
N. E. side of Straidanahana to Bruslee flush, or lower end of Straid-
a,nahana, which is the farthest bound of the Coiporation at that
place.

From Brusslee flush southerly to the Ree-hill, and along said hill
by the march ditch, between said hill and Carntall, observing the
turnings of said ditch ; then turning about S. E. along the west side
of my Lord's Mountain, to the head of James Anderson's farm.

From James Anderson's farm down the S. W. side by a rivulet
called Silver Stream, which runs nearly south to the sea, and bounds
the Corporation all the way.

From the mouth of said stream the sea is the bounds into town.

Names of people present at aforesaid Riding —

William Kirk, esquire, Mayor.

Alex. Gunning, esq., Deputy Recorder.

Robert Clements, esquire, ) r,, -a-
ti „„ ir,\.i. '„:Jt ' i Sheriffs.

Thomas Kirk, esquire,

The original walls, which protected the town were destroyed

during the wars waged by the natives against the foreign

colony, which inhabited it. M'Skimin* has given a plan of

* The account of Carrickfergus. given in these pages, has been
compiled principally from the '• History of Carrickfergus," written
by the distinguished local antiquarian, Samuel M'Skimmin, who
died at his residence in Carrickfergus, February 17th, 1843, in the
68th year of his age.

54 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the town, supposed to have been copied from one preserved
in the Lambeth Collection. In this plan, which he surmises
to belong to about the period of 1550, the town is represented
as protected, by a broad trench, or wet ditch, on the north and
west. It commenced at the sea where " the path to Belfast"
entered the town, ascended to the high ground' keeping
" the gallows" to the outside, turned then at a right angle
towards " the Palace, late a Frier's House," which it en-
closed, and again fell into the sea. The keep of the Castle
seems nearly as at present, but there are no half-moons at
the entrance, which is merely defended by a wail, planted
with canons pointed towards the town. The Church of St.
Nicholas occupies a part of the high ground, between it and
the trench, which bounds the S.W. side of the town, there
is a river, which divides into two branches, one of which
falls into the sea between the Castle and the S.W. trench,
and the other flows past the base of the cross, called " Great
Patrick," which stood, on a number of circular steps, in the
middle of the present market place. Within the triangular
space, bounded by the branches of this river and the sta,
were several castillated houses ; close to the place where the
S.W. branch of the river fell into the sea, stood Pat Savage's
Castle. At the distance of a few yards was the Castle of
Henry Wylles; of Thomas Wylles ; and a castellated building
called Mach-ne-Coole, stood parralled to the sea. Prom Mach-
m-Coole Castle stretched a row of small houses in the north-
ern direction to the N.E. branch of the river. In the rear of
these, was a large castellated building also belonging to one,.
Wylles. Between Great Patrick and the entrance to the
Castle of Carrickfergus, stood Russell's Castle ; around it
was a cluster of Cabins. After crossing the N.E. branch of
the river, Dobbin's Castle, " Stephenson's House," and

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 55

Wyrcl Tower or Prison, with a number of Cabins extended
in a line parallel to the sea. " Sindall's Castle" stood near
Great Patrick, on a line drawn from the sea through it to
the church ; and an " old trench" extended from a tower, a
little to the north of the Church of St. Nicholas, towards the
" Pallace." Such was the extent of the town at the date of
the plan. The " Wyrol Tower" seems to be a corruption of
the Mayoral or the Mayor's Tower, it was also called the
" old gatehouse," the jail and court house of the county of
the town. Near to it on the north was the dissolved mon-
astery of St. Francis, called " The Pallace, late a Freer's
House." This friary was suppressed in 1542, and the town
began to be walled with d earth and sods in 1574. It is
therefore probable that the plan was executed between these
two dates. The town records contain an order, dated,
October 10th, 1574, " that there should be a vamour (Avant
Mour, a wall in front) of sodds or turtfe, rounde aboughte
the towne," which should be erected at the expence of the
town except " the fower mounts at the fower corners," which
were to be made at the expence of the Queen. The records
state that this Vamour was finished " Within one month
after the decree was made." In October of the following
year, the Mayor and Corporation organized with the Lord
Deputy Sydney, " to wall from Her Majestie's Castell on
the north east, into the mount of the Myll along by the Sea
Syde, at 5s. Sterling, the foote, every foote to be made 7
foote in the foundation, 4 foote in the top of the wall, and
16 foote in height." The owners of the ground were to
receive 6d. per running foot, for the loss of the same. This
wall extended from the Castle, along the sea to the " Mount
of the Myll," which stood near a mill, which was turned by
a stream that ran through the grounds of the " Pallace,"

56 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

called " The Friar's Garden," and what was afterwards
the grand jury room of the County of Antrim Court-House,
and fell into the sea at the west side of Water Gate, which
was named from that river. This walling was soon laid
aside, owing to the removal of Sidney and the Irish Wars.
In 1594, the Corporation sent a deputation to London,
which estimated the expense of finishing the walls at .£1,500.
The agents offered, on the part of the Corporation, to wall the
town, within three and a half years, and after two years from
that date, to pay to the Crown a rent of £40 per annum,
provided that the Crown would give £300, and resign to
them the third part of the customs of the port, which was
then valued at £7 10s. Od. per annum. The Corporation
seems to have got more promises than assistance, for, in
1596, they complained to the lord deputy of their expense
" in repairing the rampier or towne walles, being made
with soddes, everie winter the same doth fall down to our
greate ympoverishment." It was only when Sir Arthur
Chichester became Lord Peputy, that the walls were com-
pleted, about the year 1608. The walls are mostly erected
outside the trench, marked on the ancient plan referred to.
They were about six feet thick on the top, towards the land,
and about eighteen feet high. The landside was also
strengthened by a wet ditch. There were four gates an-
ciently named Glenarm or Spital-Gate, now called North
Gate ; Woodburn or west-Gate, more recently called
Irish-Gate ; Water-Gate, and Quay-Gate.*

* Two of these Spital-Gate and West-Gate, were entered by
draw-bridges ; and Water-Gate and Quay-Gate were defended by
battlements over them. In 1739 the Corporation petitioned the
Lord-Lieutenant to have the walls and gates repaired, and stated,
that "no manner of repairs had been done to the walls, gates, or
the draw-bridges, since the year 1715." The space enclosed by the

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 57

ANCIENT CHURCHES.

The church was, as is frequently the case iu seaport towns,
dedicaced to St. Nicholas, the patron of sailors. It is
valued in the Taxation of F ope Nicholas at 20 marks, which
was a large sum, and shows its importance at that period.
A record in the Patent Rolls 31, Ed. 1, also testifies to its
early importance. " John Cantock, Rector of the Church
of Blessed Nicholas, of Oragfergus, and to farm let to
Robert le Mercer, the aforesaid Church, for the term of
three years, at 45 marks per annum ; the said Robert to pay
all charges, as well ordinary as extraordinary, also papal
tenths ; and to complete the chancel of said church, as he has
commenced it." An Inquisition was opened, a.d., 1305,
concerning the granting of certain lands and advowsons,
and among them the advowson of the Church of the Blessed
Nicholas of Knockfergus. In the " Royal and other Letters,"
preserved in the State Paper Office, London, is one written to
Henry III. about the year 1220, by Reginald, Bishop of Con-
nor, in which he states, that among other valuable endowments
conferred on the Abbot and Canons of St. Mary's, Carrick-
fergus, by the munificence of John De Courcey, was the
rectory of St. Nicholas, which then one Audeon Brun, a
clergyman, had unlawfully possessed himself of. It does
not appear that the Abbey of St. Mary's ever recovered the

walls — exclusive of the site of the Castle and the pier, has the out-
line of an irregular hexagon, and measures about 460 yards by 340.
The Irish Quarter, once called West Suburb, obtained its present
name after the year 1677, when the Lord- Lieutenant, the Duke of
Orrnond issued, a proclamation, ordering^ all Catholics resident in
cities, corporate towns and forts, to remove beyond the walls.
Scotch quarter is occupied chiefly by fishermen, and obtained its
nome from a Scotch Colony of the same Craft, who arrived here
from Galloway and Argyleshire.

58 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

rectory of St. Nicholas ; and tradition asserts, that the
church belonged, in after times, to the Franciscan friars, but
that assertion seems principally to have arisen from the
existence of a subterraneous passage, which was supposed
to have extended from the chancel of St. Nicholas to the
friary. In 1527 the register of Primate Cromer mentions
Donald M'Kenny as rector de Petra — Carrickfergus.
The ancient church was, on the change of religion, fitted up
for Protestant service. The Terrier says — " Ecclesia de
Carrickfergus hath no glebe, but some orchards — proxies,
20/- ; refections, 20/- ; synodals, 2/ ." The church stands
on a rising ground, near the centre of the town ; it consists
of a chancel, nave, and two aisles. The extreme length is
144 feet, the breadth across the transept, 94 feet ; the nave
is only 41 feet long, while the chancel is 74 feet. Mr.
Drew, the architect, who had charge of repairs made in it,
in his very instructive Report, made in 1872, supposes that
the present Church was erected about 1230, and adds : —

"It may be presumed, that at the original foundation, its west
end, of which now no trace has been found, was on the site, or
slightly westward, of the present tower ; that, in its earliest form, it
consisted of a nave, 75 feet long, and — a strange peculiarity — 26 feet
wide at the west end, while it was 22 feet wide at the east end. The
nave had, on each side, five pointed arches, springing from circular
columns (most of which remain concealed in the walls to this day)
opening into side aisles, and, opposite the eastward arches on each
side, would appear to have been lateral chapels, two on the south,
and two on the north, which occupied very nearly the area of the
present transepts. The high altar was set up, no doubt, to the east-
ward of this nave, in a chancel, of the dimensions of which we have
no evidence ; while at the eastern ends of ths lateral aisles, and in
the lateral chapels beyond, were probably four other subsidiary
altars, dedicated — one to the Virgin, and the others fro favourite
saints. There is no difficulty in identifying the work of Robert le
Mercer (See page 57). It is the long choir or eastern arm of the cross
before referred to ; and is 65 feet in length, by 21 feet in breadth.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 59

The westward beginning is marked by a beautiful clustered column,
which the late works have discovered imbedded in the wall, and
from which a chancel arch sprung. This choir still retains its old
window openings, four in number, on the south side, the great
window on the east, and one, at least, ancient on the north side ;
the last mentioned still retains ancient tracery of a fine character,
and both it and the east window have, internally, banded shafts on
the jambs, from which spring moulded arches. At the south-east
angle are two very beautiful buttresses, with little moulded columns
at the angles, in good preservation. The choir still shows, on the
the south side, an ancient priest's doorway, built up, and on the north
side, in a very usual position, a " sepulchre " tomb, also built up>
and which has, I regret to say, been somewhat injured by the recent
alterations, and a coped stone, bearing a sculptured crozier, which it
contained, wantonly, I think, removed from it. I conjecture that
after, say 100 years, of its existence, from inherent defect, from
neglect or vicissitudes, the earlier part of the Church, and especially
the lateral aisles and chapels, had fallen into indifferent condition.
Whether this long choir was used at this period by a body of Pre-
monstre Canons or the neighbouring Franciscans, or some other com-
munity, I cannot say, but I imagine that the rector or prior who
ruled had but little respect for architectural congruity or beauty.
Under such auspices was the large south window of the extreme
south chapel built up or altered, and the flat-headed Tudor, now
there, inserted. The eastern end of the adjoining chapel was also
rebuilt, and a similar Tudor window inserted."

In the north aisle are interred Sir Arthur Chichester,
Lord Deputy and Lord Treasurer of Ireland, and many
members of the Chichester family. The tombstone, on which
was sculptured an episcopal crozier, was probably the tomb-
stone of some of the Bishops of Connor, who generally re-
sided in the vicinity, on their Manor of Kilroot.

The Franciscan friary formerly stood on the site of the
gaol of the County of Antrim, near the eastern extremity of
High Street. There is not the slightest vestage of it re-
maining ; but the discoveries which have been made on and
about its site, not only serve to place its existence beyond

60 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

doubt, but to indicate its having been of great extent. In
1776, in sinking the foundation of the jail, quantities of
human bones, an altar bell, and several gold rings were
found. Two of the coffins were square and very massive ;
they rested on heavy beams of oak. In 1805, a small brazen
crucifix, of beautiful workmanship, was dug up near the
jail; and, in 1810, several oak coffins, and a small and
tastefully carved stone cross were discovered in its
vicinity. In 1815, a large gold ring was found in an
adjoining garden ; on it was inscribed — Amat disci Pater
atque Princeps — " He loves to be called Father and Prince."
The foundation of this friary is attributed, by the best
authorities, to Hugh de Lacy, who is said to have erected it
in the year 1232. He was interred, in 1243, " Apud
Cnockfergus in conventu Fratrum." — at Cnockfergus in the
convent of the friars — Graces Annals. The honour of the
foundation of this friary is ascribed by some to a chieftain of
the O'Neill's, while others assert that it was erected by some
of the Magennis family. There can be no doubt that the
O'Neill's had not acquired any authority in the neighbour,
hood of Carrickfergus, when the friary was erected ; and
the same argument holds good against ascribing the honors
to Magennis. Luke Wadding errs in saying, that it was
built by one of the Clannaboy O'Neills : he adds, " the
convent belonged to the O'Neills, and they used it as their
burial place." Richard de Burgo and Gerald Fitzmaurice
were interred in this friary shortly after its erection. A
sacrilegious deed connected with this convent is marked in
our Annals, at the year 1408. A chieftain, named Hugh,
son of Adam Mac Gilmore, after plundering and destroying
sixty religious edifices, and murdering two of the Clan
Savage, took sanctuary in the Franciscan Church of

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 61

Carrickfergus. Even this church had, however, been already-
plundered by him, and he had carried away the iron bars,
which originally guarded its windows ; thus his assailants
were now able to penetrate through these windows, and he
was murdered at the foot of the altar. In 1497, the
chieftain of Clannaboy reformed this friary to a branch
of the Franciscans, called the order of Strict Observance ;
the event is thus entered in the Annals of the Four Masters —
" The Monastery of the Friars in Carrickfergus was obtained
for the Friars Minor de Observantia by Rescript from
Rome, at the instance of Niall, the son of Con, son of Hugh
Boy O'Neill, and sixteen brothers of the Convent of
Donegall took possession of it, on the vigil of the first
festival of the B. V. Mary in autumn, having obtained
authority for that purpose." O'Connor, in his Stowe
Catalogue, vol. 1, p. 158, mentions, as extant in that
library, a MS. of 52 pages, in the Irish language, containing
the Lives of sixteen saints, with the subscription at the end :
" Fr. Bonaventura MacDool, Guardianus de Carrickfergus,
theologise lector." Those Lives were transcribed from a
more ancient MS., belonging to this convent. A.D. 1510, a
general chapter of the Order was held in this convent. The
Franciscans of Carrickfergus shared the same fate as the
other religious houses at the general suppression.

The Carew collection of State Papers contains the submis-
sion of Hugh, son of Nellan Juvenis; into such uncouth form,
had the public document changed the princely name of Niall
Oge O'Neill. " 1552, Dec. 28 — Order made between King
Edward VI. and Hugh, son of Nellan Juvenis. The said
Hugh submitted himself to the clemency of the Kino-, re-
penting of the war, which he waged against him, and
supplicated pardon, which was granted by us, the under-
signed. (Signatures not given).

62 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

" Whereas he petitioned that the late monasteries within
his country, that are now devastated, should be granted to
him in farm with the lands, at such a rent as the king's
commissioners should assign ; and that for the next two
years he should be exonerated from payment for the same.
We grant that exemption.

" We have granted his petition for the Monastery of the
Friars of Knockfergus, that Divine Service may be celebrated,
and three secular priests serve there, as he asserts that the
sepulchres of his ancestors are there, and that there is no
other fitting temple in the country."

This was a bold request ; but O'Neill was permitted, at
least for a time, to have his secular priests in the church,
which his ancestor had fitted up for the Grey Friars. A few
years afterwards the old religion was again in the ascendancy.
In 1554, the second year of Queen Mary, when Cardinal
Pole came to England with power from Rome, the guardian
and community of Kilcullin presented a memorial to that
personage, praying restitution of the Franciscan Convents o£
Kilcullin, Enniscorthy, Trim, Multifernhan, and Carrick-
fergus, which had been forfeited to the Crown during the
schism. The original of this memorial, in Latin, is among
the Harleian MSS., 416, F. 73 — see Meehan's Franciscan
Convents.

In reply, Her Majesty instructed the Lord Deputy, the
Earl of Sussex,* to grant their petition. Daring Elizabeth's

*The Earl of Sussex arrived at Carrickfergus, July 9th, 1556,
having marched from the Cave Hill. The account of this journey,
as recorded by his secretary, is as follows : — "Thursday, ye ninth
of July, my Ld. Deputy removed and came to Knockfergus, and
there he was received by ye Maior and ye Bishop of Downe in ye
church ; and service done as aforesaid, aDd there offered, and from
thence went to ye Castell, and there was received with ye shott of

THE PARISH OP CARRICKFERGUS. 63

reign, however, this convent felt the full fury of the storm
of persecution, which raged throughout our island. Wad-
ding tells, that the religious were expelled, and that the
English Governor, after seizing on all the sacred properties
of the convent, cast five of the friars into prison, keeping
them there till all hope of further plunder was extinguished.
The names of these confessors of the faith are happily
registered by the same illustrious annalist, they are —
Robert M'Conghaill (now M'Gonegal), Eugene MacMac-an
Tsaire, Donagh Molan (Mullan), Charles O'Hanvill (O'Hamill)
and Patrick MacTeige (MacKeage). In the State Papers of

gones, and from thence went and camped one the hill of Aullf-
connocrowghe, 2 milles from Knockfargus, by an abby called ye
abbye of Conocroughe, and there remained Ffryday and Saterday in
ye country of MacXeil Ogue ; and on Saturday, at night, one
Oaddel sergeant to ye Vicount Gormonstone's brother should have
been hanged for drawing of blood in ye campe, contrary to ye
proclamation, and brought to ye gallowes red ye to be put to ex-
ecution, and was there pardoned by ye said Lord Deputy ; also
Phillpot, one of the Queen's, was likewise committed to ye marshalls
ward ye same day for ye like offence, and was also pardoned.
Sunday, my Lord Deputy removed from Aullf concroughe. " After
proceeding to Coleraine and parts of the present County of Derry.
"Saturday, ye xxv.th of July, my Ld. Deputy removed from
Glannyarm (Glenarm), and came to Balle-le-Mariscall (Marchalstown)
uppon a plaine by an old broken chmrch, two miles and a halfe from
Knockfergus, and then camped all ye night with all our Kerraght,
■or prey ; this day commng in ye way (from Glenarm), Sir George
Stanley, Knight, Marshall, with ye footemen, slew certaine Scotts
uppon ye rocks, after ye camps removing to ye number of 300 or
400, gentlemen for ye most parte, as ye Marshall reported to my
Ld. Deputy ; and there remained all Sunday, and in ye afternoone
my Ld. Deputy committed ye Kerrought to be kept in an island,
called . . . and there remained all Sunday also. Munday, at
night, mv Ld. Deputy removed from Balle-le-Marishall, and came to
Banne-vaddegan (Cave Hill)." Aullf connocrough seems to be in-
tended for Alt-knockcrough, the high hill, near Duncrue, on the
•old road from Carrickfergus.

64 ' DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the following years the convent appears as " The Palace,
late a Freer's-house, now a store house for victuals." In
1583, the Lords Justices, in a letter to Walshingham, write :
" The Palace is a place very necessary to be safely kept,
having in it the fairest and largest rooms for storage and
brewing that are in this land, besides sundry good lodgings."
Among the reasons set down, in November, 1586, by a
Captain Dawtrie, who had been Seneschal of the " Palace,"
why the warde of the Queen's Storehouse at Carrickfergus,
commonly named the Palace, should be continued after the
building of the walls of the said town, is, " Now that the
enemye dothe en vie that howsse and myll more than any
in the North of Ireland, by reason that it is in the harte of
Ulster, whereby it enableth a garrison to be planted there,
or anywhere within 20 or 30 myles more northwarde into
the countrey, from whence they are . . . with bread and
beere, without the which the garrisons cannot be mayn-
teyned in these partes." He then relates many attempts
made by Brian MacPhelim O'Neill, and other Irish, to seize
on the Palace. The corporation made a lease of the Palace
to Christopher Carleisle, governor of the town ; and this lease
expresses, that some of the turrets were " fallen damaged
and ruineated." Two engravings, taken from plans of the
town, are given in the Ulster Journal of Archceotogy, vol. vii.
One is from the Cottonian collection. That plan belongs to
about the year 1540. The convent is represented as con-
sisting of a church, having a chancel, nave, and two tran-
scepts. A high tower, terminating in a steeple, which is
surmounted by a cross, rises from the junction of the nave
transcepts and chancel, A quadrangle or cloister, the south
wins of which was the north sidewall of the nave, and its
eastern wing was the west sidewall of the north transcept, is

THE PARISH OF CARRICK.FERGUS. 65

represented on the plan. There was also an outer quadrangle
the east and west sides of which were formed by buildings,
which were in a line with the buildings that formed
the east and west boundaries of the inner quadrangle ;
or, in other words, both quadrangles might be con-
sidered as one, divided by a range of buildings, parallel
to the north sidewall of the nave. A stream passed diago-
nally through the outer quadrangle and turned a mill, which
formed the western side of the inner quadrangle. The
second plan shows the Palace * in 1610, when the spire had
been removed, the tower pierced with several windows, and
part of the chancel thrown down. On the plan is written,
" Late a frier's house, now the store house for victuals."
This friary is reserved by the Crown in the various charters
granted to the corporation. The charter of James I., 7th
of July, 1610, says, "except the place, abbey, monastery,
or priory of St. Francis, within or near said town or
borough, with the privileges, lands, tenements, and here-
ditaments to the said abbey, monastery, or priory lately
belonging. And also, except one stone ruinous house
within the said town or borough, near the sight of the
abbey or priory aforesaid, which said house was lately
a water-mill, and now or lately in the occupation of Walter
Hillman, farmer, and used for a dwelling-house ; and also

* The word Palace, as applied to this building, according to an
ingenious conjecture of a writer in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology
is derived from the word palus, ' a stake. ' The plan represents it
.«xs surrounded by a palisade. St Franeis, in his Speculum Vita?,
directs his followers — "When you intend to build, first obtain the
blessing of the bishop of the diocese, then make a deep ditch
(carbonariam), all round the land, and a good fence (sepem), instead
of a wall, as an emblem of poverty." Perhaps it was so called,
either from its being the site of the bishop's palace, or where King
John kept court when he was in Carrickfergus.

E

66 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the water course or mill ponds, and the soil or bottom
thereof, belonging to the said house or mill." The Palace
passed by royal grant into the hands of Sir Edmund
Fitzgerald, who assigned them to Sir Arthur Chichester. In
a short time Chichester erected on the site a magnificent
residence, which he named Joy mount. A. view of that
edifice is given in the Ulster Journal of Archceology, vol. vii.
One, Sir William Brereton, who visited Carrickfergus, July
5th, 1635, has left us a curious description of Joymount —

' ' Almost all the houses in this towne were built castlewise, soe as
though the Irish made spoile of and burnt the towne, yett were
they preserved unburnt. This is butt a preattie little town within
the walls of a very small extent and capacitie : the only grace of
this towne is the Lord Chichester's house, which is a very statelye
house, or rather like a prince's pallace, whereunto there belongs a
stately gate-house and graceful terrace, and walk before the house,
as at Denton, my Lord Fairefax-house. A very faire hall there is,
and a stately stair-case, and faire dineing-room, carrying the pro-
portion of the hall. Fine garden, and mighty spatious orchards,
and they say they bear good fruite. I observed on either side of his
warden, there is a dove-house placed, one opposite to the other, in
the corner of the garden, and twixt the garden and the orchards ; a
most convenient place for apricockes, for some such tender fruite to
be planted agt. the dove-house wall, that by the advantage of the
heat thereof they may be rendered more fruitful and come sooner to
maturitie, but the use is not made thereof. Very rich furniture
belongs unto this house, which seems much to be neglected, and
begins to go something to decay. It is a most stately building,
onely the windowes and rooms and whole frame of the house is
over large and vast."

The Donegall family ceased to reside in Carrickfergus
about 1724, from which time Joymount was suffered to go
to ruin. In 1768, it began to be taken down; its marble
chimney pieces and other articles of value were removed to
Fisher wick Lodge, Staffordshire. " Oral tradition," says
M'Skimin, " states that when the Monks were obliged to go

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 67

hence, they fervently prayed that the place might be ever
after the habitation of thieves." If such was their prayer, it
has been granted in a very remarkable manner, for in 1776
the Earl of Donegall gave the site to form part of the gaol
which was then being built for the County of Antrim.

Though the Franciscans were expelled, according to law,
from their ancient monastery, yet, as we will see a few
pages further on, they have continued, down to our own
time, to appoint monastic officials to preside over their
" Conventus de Carrickfergus.

About half a mile west of Carrickfergus, on the west bank
of the river of Woodburne, is the site of the priory of Wood-
burne, or Goodburne. It was founded by John de Courcy,
for Praemonstratensian Canons, and dedicated in honour of
the Holy Cross, under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Hence it was called at times St. Mary's of Crag-
Jergus ; in the Bibliotheca Prcemonstrat. " Duix-lacroisse, '>
in the diocese of Connor, is given as a daughter, or affiliation
of Drieburgh in Scotland. Dr. Reeves in convinced that
Duix-lacroisse is another name for the Abbey of Woodburne.
In the year 1183, " Willielmus, prior de Cracfergus,"
witnesses one of Sir John de Courcy 's charters to Down
Cathedral. A letter written to Henry III., about the year,
1220, by Reginald, Bishop of Connor, states, that the pro-
perty granted to this house, by De Courcy, was very ample,
and included the Rectory of St. Nicholas, but that it had
then been so far reduced as scarcely to suffice for the mainten-
ance of three Canons. About the year 1257, Isaac, Bishop of
Connor, made a grant to Muckamore, which was witnessed
by " Johannes, Abbas de Deulacres" — Reg. Muck. " Frater
Jo. Abbas de Deuleucres " became Treasurer of Ulster.
In the taxation of Pope Nicholas, the "Temporalities

68 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

of the Abbot of Deulacressce" was valued at £4A 5s 5d.
In 1326 Friar Roger Outlaw, Prior of Kilmainham,
and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, dates the grant of a lease
" Apud abbatiam de Woodeborne." Gillerath Mac Courath
was the last abbot. He is represented by an Inquision as,
in the year 1542, surrendering into the hands of the Com-
missioners of Henry VIII., the Abbey and its possessions.
The Abbot was then seized of a parcel of lands lying around
the Priory, of the rectories of Antrim, Killdollagh, Coule in
Carnmoney, Ballylinney, Ballyprior in Island Magee, and
the Chapel of Downmallis, at Larne. In 1527, the Bishop,
according to Primate Cromer's Register, appointed Bernard
M'Cura, Abbot of Woodburne, and Donald M'Kenny,
Rector of Kragfergush, alias de Petra, the Vicar General of
Connor, to be Commissioners in his absence. An Inquisition
found, that the Abbot, whom it calls Gillerath MCowragh.
retired, after the suppression, with his monks, into Island
Magee, where they died. Father MacCana, or M'Cann,
who visited Goodburn about the year 1643, says : —

" Of this Monastery of Goodburn, not a particle now remains,
not even the rubbish ; for at the very beginning of the reign of
Elizabeth, when all things divine and human were confounded, all
the stones of that Monastery were removed by a citizen of Karrick-
fergus into the city, to build a dwelling-house beside the walls of
the castle, which went by the name of the New Works, or in Irish,
Obair-nuath, but under the just judgment of God he was deprived by
the Governor of the town, of both the house and other premises that
were attached to it. Of this sacrilegious act, and of the merited
punishment that was inflicted by Heaven, I have met many eye-
witnesses. I have met many persons, who, when boys, saw the
aged Abbot of that monastery, Macura by name, but they were not
old enough to think of asking to what order it belonged."

The site of the Abbey and its lands were reserved by the
Crown in the various Charters granted to Carrickfergus,

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 69

and they were used as grazing grounds for the horses of the
garrison. In 1604, April 5th, a grant of the Monastery,
and the lands around it, described as fifteen acres, together
with their tithes, was made by the Crown to Sir Oliver
Lambert ; by whom, on the 3rd of May, in the same year,
they were made over to Sir Arthur Chichester. Sir Arthur,
about this time, was securing to himself immense territories
within the Liberties of Carrickfergus. Of Woodburn,
nothing now remains, even to mark the site. It is stated
that the houses in the Irish quarter were built with the
stones from its ruins. Quantities of human bones, silver
and copper coins, and pieces of sculptured stones, have been,
from time to time, dug up on the site; and under the
foundations of one of the walls, which was four feet thick, a
human skeleton was found. About a furlong west of the
site of the Abbey are the traces of the old mill and mill-dam
which belonged to the Abbey.

In the Taxation of Pope Nicholas " The Rectory of St.
Mary's, of Carrickfergus," is valued at " 4| marks, 16d," or
£3 Is. 4d. ; and " the Vicarage of the same " is valued at
14s. 8d. From the Register of Primate Octavian we are
informed that Primate Mey, as Guardian of the Spiritualists
of Down and Connor, sede vacante, in the year 1450 admitted
to the Yicarage the Church of St. Mary, on the east side of
the town of Cragfergus, vacant by the death of Hugh Byrde,
The last vicar, William Kerde, on the presentation of Marc,
Abbot of the Monastery of St. Comgall, of Bangor. Wit-
nesses — Patrick Wyncheslade, mayor ; Thomas Warde,
Robert Hulyn, bailiffs of Cragfergus. An inquisition taken
at Antrim, in 1605, finds among the appropriations of
Bangor, " The chapel in, or near, the rampart of Knock-
fergus, called Eastney, with all its tithes, &c." The site of

70 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

this house cannot now be ascertained ; it seems to have been
very near the town, on the east side, yet it cannot have been
between the Franciscan Friary and the sea ; for the plan of
the " Pallace " shows the fields of that monastery, as ex-
tending down nearly to the shore — a row of cabins, which
faced the sea, only intervening between the grounds of the
monastery and the sea. As the rectory of St. Mary's was
vested in the Abbot of Bangor, it is probable that the church
is of an antiquity much greater than the English invasion.
It was on account of this Church that the Monastery of
Bangor was possessed of the ferry between Bangor and
Carrickfergus. The site of the Church will yet be found
not far from the present Boat-quay, that is in the Scotch
quarter.

M'Skimin says — " Adjoining the east suburb of the town
is the site of the hospital of St. Bridget, an ancient monastic
foundation, said to have been for the reception of lepers.
Some remains of the chapel attached to this hospital re-
mained within the last forty years., and persons were interred
in it, within memory. The lands adjoining are still called
Spitted Parks, and were, till this year (1823), free of fcythe.
There is no record when this hospital was founded, or by
whom. In the 36th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
this hospital and the lands attached were granted by the
Crown, to Richard Harding, for thirty years. They were
afterwards granted, by James I., to Sir Folk Conway, at
the yearly rent of thirteen shillings and fourpence. He
soon after assigned them to Sir A. Chichester, who obtained
a new grant from James I., at the annual rent of eight
shillings and tenpence halfpenny farthing." The burial
ground is now partly under cultivation, and partly occupied
by the high road to Gleno. Extensive foundations, coffins

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 71

of oak, in tolerable preservation, and quantities of human
bones, were dug up, early in this century, on the site of the
house and burial ground. " A little north of the town, on
the east of the road leading to Gleno," says M'Skiniin, " is
a well, neatly enclosed with cut stone, now called the Bride-
well. Here, formerly, stood an hospital dedicated to St.
Bride, called the " Spittal House," which was granted, same
time as St. Bridget's hospital, to Richard Harding, for a
like term of years. In the deed to Harding, it is called
" parcell antique hereditament," and chiefly consisted of a
small plot, called the " Fryar's Garden." All records or
traditions are silent, respecting the hospital, which was
probably attached to some large religious house ; hence the
silence resoecting it. The lands in which this well is
situated are the property of the Marquis of Donegal, and
until this year (1823), were free of tythe/' St. Bride's
Well is about two and a half feet square, and of about the
same depth ; it is neatly faced with stone. The foundations
of a grouted wall, which once enclosed it, can still be dis-
cerned. Both Spittal Parks and Spittal House seem to
have been connected with the same religious house, and,
though tradition is strong that they were connected with an
hospital for the sick, it is by no means certain. They may
have derived their name, Spittal, from having been the
property of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, who were
called Hospitallers. The following entry, in the Taxation of
Pope Nicholas, refers to a church which that Order had in
Carrickfergus : — " The rectors of the churches of Carlecastel,
and St. John of Cragfergus — they are Hospitallers." In
1213, Pope Innocent III. confirmed to the Hospitallers the
enjoyment of the Church of St. John, the Evangelist, in
Craferg. Churches which formerly belonged to the

72 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Hospitallers are denominated, by the people, Spidal or Spitted.

The foundations of an ancient church are situated at Carn-
Rawsie, near Burleigh Hill, and about a mile and a half
north of Carrickfergus. The church measured 62 feet long,
only a small portion of the eastern gable about one foot high
and three feet thick now remains, but previous to the year
1827 a considerable portion of the walls were standing. In
an adjoining field a stone-lined grave was found in 1830,
There was a spring well in the graveyard, within a few yards
of the church. There is a tradition that this church was
dedicated to St. Nicholas. This church is entered in the
Terrier — " Ecclesia de Rasce hath some orchards, and pays,
Proxies, 5/-; "Refections, 5/-; Synodals, 2/-."

The ruins of Killyann Church — a name which signifies
probably ' the church at the river' — occupy an elevated
and delightful situation, about 2 miles N.N.W. of Carrick-
fergus, and three quarters of a mile N.W. of the site of
Carnrawsie Church, It is sometimes also called Duncrue
Church, from a circular mound, or tumulus, which, a few
yards west of the ruins, impends over a little ravine, watered
by a rivulet which intervenes, and above which it rises to a
height of about 60 feet. A drawing of the church and
mound is given by M'Skiniin. The church measured 41
by 16 feet in the interior. In 1800 a large portion of its
walls was thrown down ; there now remains only a part of
the west gable, about 15 feet in height and 12 feet in length,
which is three feet seven inches thick, and built of small
and undressed field-stones. The ancient burial ground was
principally towards the east side. The mound is of the
usual kind, near to which the early Christians built their
churches, as has been frequently remarked before in these
volumes. The erection of the church beside it shows that

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 73

Duncrue was once a place of great importance — the folk-
mote of a tribe, perhaps of the Crotraidh, a tribe whose
tribute to the King of Ulster is thus recorded in the Book of
Rights — " There is due from Crotraidth of the fleet, bear it
in thy memory, a hundred weathers, a hundred cows, not
sickly cows, and a hundred cloaks." The tribe is mentioned
in the poem between, " bare Latharna " (Lame), and the
tribe of the Breadach, who were located on the Castlereagh
hills. When King John was at Carrickfergus, in 1210, he
granted to John de Hanewude the " Villa de Duncru in
Ultonia."

On the Commons, Middle Division, is a place called
Craig-na-brathair — "The Friar's Rock." On the summit
of a rocky knoll are some traces of small circular buildings,
which were erected without any mortar ; they are supposed
to have been for religious purposes. It is said that Mass
was celebrated here by friars during the time of persecution.

At Stony Glen, Knock agh, near the verge of the steep
declivity, there formerly stood a religious house, said to be
a friary, the foundations of which were dug up about 80
years ago. It was called " the Priest's House," It is said
that the walls were four feet thick, and firmly grouted.
About the foundations some dressed sand-stones, two large
rings of fine gold, in the inside of one of which was inscribed,
in badly shaped old letters, / love God, several coins of the
reigns of Edward IV., Edward VI., and Louis XIV., a
wooden mether and a great quantity ot human bones.
Within 12 feet N.W. of the site of the foundations, is a
fine spring well, about 2^ feet deep and 3 feet in diameter ;
it seems at one time to have been faced with stone. It is
locally known as the " Friar's Well." On the northern side
of the sife of the foundations, and almost contiguous to it, is

74 DIOCESE OP CONNOR.

a small earthen mound, 15 feet in diameter, and 3 feet high.
It is to some extent depressed in the centre, the sides of the
mound are carefully paved with stones, which are now al-
most entirely covered with herbage. It is certain, that this
is the remains of an ancient ecclesiastical cashel, such as
many of our old saints made, to enclose the desertum,
which they had selected far away from the haunts of men,
as a place of prayer and penance. And indeed it is difficult
to imagine a more peaceful and retired spot, so shut out
from the world, yet displaying such a magnificent and varied
prospect of the most enchanting beauties of scenery. At the
extremity of the glen is a fine old hawthorn tree, near
which, it is said, Mass was celebrated during the pre-
valence of the Penal Laws. A number of ancient enclosures,
some for habitations, and some for housing cattle, were
formerly in the vicinity of the Friar's Glen ; the most of
them have been destroyed.

Hear the base of the precipitous cliffs, which form the
southern declivity of the hills in the Western Division, is a
tract of about 50 acres, commonly known as Trooper Land,
which must from the earliest age have been a place of great
importance. The broken and uneven surface of the place
presented formidable obstructions to agriculture, and, there-
fore, preserved it to a great extent in its primitive state.
There were there several extensive and curious caves, in
what is called the Burial Ground. They consisted of a
number of bee-hive shaped subterranean structures, con-
nected by a pipe-shaped cave. The bee-hive structures were
circular, and had at the bottom a square entrance, through
which a man could scarcely creep. They were from four to
five feet high, and about four feet in diameter, gradually
converging towards the summit, which was formed of a

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 75

single slab, from 15 to 18 inches square. They were as
usual constructed of dry stones, quite undressed, and without
any cement. A circular earthen Rath, 130 feet in diameter,
and from 5 to 11 feet high, stands on the brow of a steep
declivity, adjoining the Burial Ground. There were, at
least, sixteen little tumuli, or mounds, in a more or less
perfect state, scattered over the surface of the Burial Ground,
and in the low grounds at a short distance from it. Their
usual form is circular, and their dimensions from 10 to 15
feet in diameter, and from 2 to 5 feet high. No remains
have been found about any of these. Numerous traces of
paved and formed paths, that traversed this tract in almost
every direction, furnished ample proof that it was once much
frequented. During the months of May and June, 1839, a
number of graves were discovered ; their sides were com-
posed of stones set upon their edges — above, they were
covered with stones ; and the bottom of some of them were
paved. Within each grave, broken urns, of a yellowish
colour, were found ; they were filled with ashes and bones.
There were also found an iron spear head, and some other
instrument, of the same metal, but so corroded that its use
could not be ascertained. A whinstone, formed into three
moulds, for casting the bronze battle-axes, which are so
common in all collections of Irish antiquities, was also found.
It measured 7 by 5 inches, and was 1| inches in thickness.
An oval stone, 5 by 4J inches, having a hole pierced in its
centre ; flint arrow heads, and other such remains were dis-
covered. At the head of one grave an undressed stone, 6
feet high, 5 feet wide, and 18 inches thick, stood, with
about half of it above the ground. About 1835, the found-
ations of a square building, built of stone and lime, which
was supposed to have been a church, were dug up. Several

76 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

enormous stones lay scattered through the Burial Ground.
One was thought to have been the covering-stone of a Crom-
leach. About 500 yards north-east of it, and 100 yards
north of the Burial Ground, a large stone, 5 feet 10 inches
high, 4 feet 3 inches broad, and 3 feet 6 inches thick,
occupies the summit of a rocky eminence, under the precipice
of Knockagh. It is firmly set on a pavement of other stones.
From the various remains found, Trooper's Land seems to
have been a very early settlement, which continued to com-
paratively recent times. Many foundation of Boley Houses,
enclosures for cattle, and other traces of early habitation
can yet be traced in the vicinity of the Burial Ground. —
See Ord. Memoir MS.

An interesting discovery was made here in June, 1839.
An urn, made of yellowish clay, well burned and glazed, and
ornamented with handles, was discovered, two feet beneath
the paved bottom' of a grave. Within the urn was a smaller
urn, without a bottom ; both contained clay and small bones.
At the depth of about three feet beneath the paved bottom
of another grave, a large well burned urn was found. It
contained partially decayed jaw bones, with very large teeth,
and small fragments of other bones. In the urn was also
found a solid iron spear-head, greatly decayed. The spear-
head had not a socket ; its extremity was solid. It is re-
markable that a considerable amount of iron antiquities,
doubtlessly belonging to the Pagan period, were found here.
There were also found in the Burial Ground several brooches
and pins, of bronze, and iron rings, supposed to have been
portions of a coat of mail, and a small bronze cup. In 1836,
a stone cup, or ladle, was found near a stone, supposed to
have been a part of a Cromleach. The cup was of whinstone,
about five inches in diameter, and two inches deep ; at one

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 77

side was a handle, two inches long, which had a small hole
drilled through it. — See Northern Whig, of June 11th, 1839,

There are in the county four cairns, all of which are
mutilated, the most remarkable is that on Slievtrue
Mountain. The cairn was much injured for materials for
the building of a school-house, which has long since fallen to
ruin, its extreme diameter, in its mutilated state, is 80 feet,
and its height, about 5J feet. At the centre of the cairn,
was the grave, in which, about 90 years ago, two cinerary
urns were found, when a man was searching for crocks of
gold, about which he had dreamed. About half a mile
S.W. of the cairn, are three large stones, which now form
part of the fence, marking the N.W. side of the county.
These stones are called the " Three Brothers." They are
from 6 to 8 feet long, 3 feet high, and about 4| feet in
breadth. The mountain, is said to be named from these
stones, Slievetrue, as if Slieve Triar, " the Mountain of the
Three." About a mile S.W. on the summit of Reagh Hill,
there formerly stood a cairn, 60 feet in diameter. A horse
fair, and horse races, were from time immemorial, held on
this hill, on Christmas Eve — perhaps the remains of the
ancient games and oenach, annually celebrated at the funereal
mound of some great chief; similar customs were in Greece,
and were the origin of the great games of that country. The
remains of a cairn, which had been 30 feet in diameter, are
to be seen on the eastern declivity of the Knockach Hill.
The stone which covered the grave in the centre is a large
slab of whinstone, 6 by 4 feet, and 18 inches thick. A
cairn formerly stood on the summit of Carn-na-neade, in
the Middle Division, but its stones have been constructed
into a large wall.

Besides the Castle of Carrickfergus, and the castellated

78 DIOCESE OP CONNOR.

buildings in the town, there were formerly, at least, two
somewhat important castles in the county ; the principal of
which was the castle near the Silver Stream, intended to
guard the western frontier of the county. It has been
called Cloughlougherty — Cloughnaherty, Old Stone, and
Castle Lugg. It is said that it obtained the last name from
a family named Lugg, now called Legge, by whom the lands
attached to it were held in 1576. It consisted merely of a
square tower, similar to those in the counties of Wexford
and Kilkenny. Only a portion of the north wall, 27 feet
long and 25 feet high, with a very small portion of the
eastern side attached to it, now remains. The walls which
are 3| feet thick, are built of sharp, undressed quarry stones,
cemented by grouting. In digging about the old walls large
iron keys and many human bones were found.

" Speed, in his map of Ireland, published, in 1610," says
M'Skimin, " has laid down a castle, called Dunrock, near
the west bank of Loughmourne. This must have been an
error, as there is not the slightest trace of it observable, nor
any tradition of a castle or fort ever having been there."
Speed, however, was not far wrong, for 80 yards west of the
mound of Duncrue, which Speed seems to have misnamed
Dunrock, are the foundations of an ancient castle, sur-
rounded by a moat. The foundations, which are now faintly
discernable, include a square, 34 by 26 feet, and stand
north and south, near the centre of a platform of a some-
what oval form, measuring 330 by 1 50 feet, and encompassed
by a moat or ditch, 15 feet wide and about 6 feet deep.
The moat is crossed at the eastern side by an earthen
approach. 12 feet wide. About the year 1820 a circular
floor of sandstones, about 1 8 feet in diameter, was discovered
near the centre of the castle. This castle is said by

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 79

tradition to have belonged to the Anglo-Norman family of
Russell. — See Ord. Memoir MS.

During the operations at Lough Mourne, carried out in
1882, by the Water Commissioners of Belfast, no less than
three artificial islands, or cranoges, were discovered :
nothing of importance, however, was found in any of them,
except an antique crucible, and the remains of an oaken canoe.
There was also found an iron instrument, which is simply a
socketed celt, similar in shape to Figure 275 in Wilde's
Catalogue — but the celt figured in 275 is cast-bronze, and
this is wrought-iron, and, instead of the loop for tying the
instrument to the handle, this iron celt has a hole. The
instrument exhibits great skill in iron work. It is a matter
of regret that the Commissioners did not preserve so inter-
esting primaeval structures.

A.bout a mile and a half west of the town, and about a third
of a mile from the shore of the Lough of Belfast, were, until
some years ago, the remains of a military position, formerly
known by the names of Scout Guard, and Lettice Land. The
former name it obtained from being the station of the Scout
Major ; and the latter name from Lettice Knolles, the wife
of Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex, and Governor of Ulster.
It was formerly surrounded by a deep trench, which enclosed
a space of more than two acres. This fortified quadrangle
was flanked with bastions at its angles, and entered by draw-
bridges on the east and north.

In the southern brow of the Knockagh hill are four caves
cut out of the rock, which, from the difficulty ot access to
them, seem to have been intended as places of refuge. The
most western, locally known as Haughian's Cave, is about 50
feet from the base of the cliff and 150 from its summit.
It is capable of holding about 20 men, and is about six feet

80 DIOCESE OF CONNOB.

high. The second is about twenty feet east of the first,
it is said to be larger than its more western neighbour, and
also to be artificial. About a mile east of these, and about
half way from the base of the cliff, which here is about 100
feet high, is a large artificial cave. About half a mile more
east, is the fourth of the Knockagh artificial caves. It is
about 30 feet from the base and 50 from the summit of the
cliff. It consists of two small apartments ; formerly it was
approached by hewn steps, but they have long since been
destroyed. In the face of the cliff, overhanging a waterfall
on the Woodburn River, about two miles west of Carrick-
fergus, are the entrances to two caves, which are hewn out
of the solid rock. They are 8 feet apart and are 30 feet
above the bed of the stream ; but both are now choked up
with rubbish. One of these is small, but the other is of
considerable size ; it is called Peter's Cave, from a simpleton,
named Peter M'Guckian, who formerly inhabited it. There
is a cave in the interior of a fort, or rath, which is situated
in a gentle declivity in the low ground in the West Division.
The cave consisted of three chambers, which formed three
sides of a square, within the rath. Only a portion of the
southern chamber, about thirteen feet long, now remains, it
is constructed in the usual manner, and is from 3J feet to 4
feet high, and about 3 feet wide. The entrance was in the
western side of the rath, by a narrow pipe, which has been
destroyed. The rath is 70 feet wide and about 6 feet high
above the bottom of the ditch, which is 15 feet wide. The
outer earthen parapet, which encompassed the ditch, has
been removed.

There are, at present, only 13 forts or raths in the county
of Carrickfergus ; within memory, upwards of 60 have been
destroyed, and almost all that now exist have suffered more

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 81

or less. In selecting a site their builders seemed to have
been guided solely by the close proximity to a stream. There
are now only 6 of those structures called mounds or tumuli,
the principal of which is Duncrue. Within memory four of
this class have been destroyed. On opening a part of one of
these mounds, in the Middle Division, about 1810, a place
was discovered, on the north-west side, resembling a lime
kiln, but without cement. In the bottom were found
charcoal and bones, said to be human. Within a circle of
large stones, at a few yards distance, was found a number
of urns, containing ashes and bones, over each urn was a
large flat stone, bearing marks of fire, and near them were
found the skulls and other bones of animals. The urns were
all broken, from the weight of their covering stones. They
were of course clay and were, each, capable of holding about
six quarts — See Ord. Memoir MS.

The Civil Parish of Kilroot extends over four townlands.
containing 2,418 acres. The ruins of the church of Kilroot
are in the townland of the same name. The foundation
is ascribed to the year 412, on the authority of a Life
of St. Ailbe, of Emly, quoted by Ussher. Dr. Lanigan and
Dr. Reeves, however, prove that St. Ailbe did not precede
St. Patrick, and that the Life abounds with anachronisms.
The most ancient and trustworthy Lives of St. Patrick re-
present St. Ailbe as one of the disciples of St. Patrick, and
the accurate Annals of Ulster, and those of Innisfallen,
place the death of Ailbe, in the year 527.

The passage from the Life of St. Ailbe relative to the
origin of Kilroot Church, is as follows : — " After this the
holy Albeus returned, like the most prudent bee with its burden
of honey, by the assistance of God to his own country. And
when he had come to the sea, he blessed it ; and he and all

82 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

his people sailed in a great calm over the sea without any
accident, in a most wretched boat, and they landed in the
north part of Ireland. In that place, at the bidding of the
holy Albeus, one of his family, named Colmanus, built a
church (cello), which is called Ceall-ruaidh. And as the
place had not water, St. Albeus blessed a certain stone, in
the name of the all-powerful God, and from it immediately
burst forth a stream of water. Then the holy Colman said
to Albeus, " the water is little," and Albeus replied, " though
it is small, it will never fail, and the stream will continue
for ever to the end of the world." Hence the name of the
river is Buanan Cylle-ruayd — i.e., the unfailing stream of
Celle-ruaidh. This legend refers to a very small stream which
still trickles from an ancient well, a few perches south of the
site of the church. The festival of St. Colman, the founder of
Kilroot, was held on 16th of October, on which day the
Felire of Aengus commemorates Colman of that Cell Ruad,
and the note in the Leabhar Breac adds — " Colman i.e.,
Bishop Colman, son of Cathbad, of Cell Ruaid, on the brink
of Lough Laig, in Ulster." In the Life of St. MacNisse, of
Connor, Colman is said to have been in his boyhood, when
St. MacNisse was Bishop of Connor ; so that he cannot
have been born before the middle of the fifth century. He
is called " Bishop Colman, who founded the church, named
Killruaid." To this passage Ward adds a note, " St. Colman
was Bishop of Killruad, which is now a suppressed See in
Dalaradia, on bank of the Lough of the Calf, or " Loch Laodh"
(pron. Lough Lee — the old name of Belfast Lough). In
addition to Kilroot, whose patron saint was Colman
MacCathbad, there were two other churches in the
county, called Killmaccathbad — Killmakevat, now Gartree
in Killead, and Kilmakevat, near Cullybackey ; but we

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 83

have no means of knowing that these churches were
dedicated to St. Colman, of Kilroot. "A.D. 725, Mac
Ailerain, of Cill-ruaidh died." — Fragments of Irish Annals.
[This obit, is not given in any of the other published Annals. J
The Four Masters record, A.D., 1142 — " A great predatory
excursion was made by Conchobhar MacLochlain, and the
Cinel-Eoghain, until they arrived at Cillruaidh, in Ulidia •
and they carried off countless cattle spoils."

The Taxation of Pope Nicholas values the "rectory of the
Church of Kilrothe" at five marks, and "the vicarage of
the same " at 20s. The Terrier enters — " Ecclesia de
.Killroote — Kelles hath the parsonage, ye mensal is three
towns, but the Bishop hath not the half that is due to him.
The Vicar pays Proxies, 3s ; Refections, 3s ; Synodals, 2s."
In an Eschaetor's account, copied by Dr. Reeves, from Sir
J. Ware's MSS., William de Bakepur accounts for £26 4s,
the rents of the lands of the Manor of Kylroth, received from
the 20th, after the Feast of St. Mary, 1256, to January 6th,
1257, when the temporalities of the See were restored to
William de Portu Regio, the Bishop of Connor. He also
accounts for £5, the rents of the Manor of Glin. The Ulster
Visitation Book, of 1622, reports — " Ecclesia de Killruagh,
alias Killroote, decayed — Rectory impropriate to the Abbey
of Kells, possest by the Lord Treasurer (Chichester)." The
same document, in enumerating the See lands belonging to
the diocese of Connor, says — " Then the Manor of Killrout
demised in fee-farme, by the late Bishop Todd, to one Wm.
Worsley, who resigned it over to Sir Hugh Claude
Hamylton, Knt., reserving only 50s. sterling, per annum.
In which deed is also demised Castle Dob, with the lands
thereunto adjoining, or belonging, being parcell of said lands
of Killroote ; after which deed made to the said Worsley,

84 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the said Bishop Todd, for a sornine of money, released to
John Delaway, Esq., (who since deceased) the said Castle
Dob, and those landes thereunto belonginge. And now the
said Bishop hath lately evicted ye said deed, and recovered
the land of Kilroote, and only is in possession of the one
half, which being set in acres, are worth per annum, £50
sterling ; and the other half is now possessed by the exe-
cutors of John Dobb by virtue of that release, being worth
also £50 sterling, per annum. Sir Hercules Langford, the
Sherife for that tyme, having warrant to put the Bishop in
possession of those landes, neglected the same, and in the
meane tyme, a Supersedeas being procured, the Bishop was
debarred of the possession of the said land, and thereafter
released, the same reserving noe rent, and so that land (has
passed) from the Church."

The return of the See lands, in 1833, published in the
Parliamentary Report, returns "Edward Brice, Esq." as
"Lessee of the townland of Kilroot, annual rent, £58 3s. Id. ;
renewal fine, =£174 9s. 2|d. ;" holding under the usual
bishop's lease for 21 years ; to be renewed every year, on
payment of the renewal fine. The Northern Whig, August
10th, 1850, contains an advertisement for the sale of this
townland, in pursuance of an order of the Commissioners of
Encumbered Estates, in the matter of the estate of Edward
Bruce, Esq., of Belfast, owner and petitioner. It is de-
scribed as held under the See subject to the yearly rent and
fine of £238 os. Id., while the gross yearly rent was
£1,034 17s. Id. The church of Kilroote is another
instance of some ancient compact between the Bishop of
Connor and the Abbot of Kells, by which, when the
offices of bishop and abbot were conferred on separate
persons, the bishop, as successor of St. MacNissi, possessed

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 85

the temporalities of the small Sees incorporated in the See of
Connor, but the Abbot of Kells, as successor of St, Mac-
Nissi, in his abbatical dignity, possessed the advowson and
rectorial tithes. Lord Donegal, the successor of Sir Arthur
Chichester, on whom the temporalities of the Abbot of Kells
were conferred by the Crown, continued to possess the
advowson and the rectorial tithes of Kilroot, until the
Dis-establishment.

The Burial Ground is at present 30 by 36 yards, but it
was formerly much larger, and graves are found far beyond
it on the east and north-east sides. Of the old church only
some mutilated fragments of the side-walls remain. From
the disfigured state of the ruins the measurement of the
church is only a matter of conjecture. The walls varied
from 2 to 3 feet in thickness : they were built of small un-
dressed stones, none of which are through or bond-stones.
Their hearting is formed of small stones, thrown in loosely,
and firmly cemented by a very hard grouting. A consider-
able quantity of dressed and cut stones, have, within memory,
been removed for modern buildings. There is, in the grave-
yard, a rude bassalt block, 30 inches by 14 inches, in which
is hollowed a holy- water font, the bowl of which is 14 inches
in diameter, and 10 inches in depth. It is said that Kilroot
House, which is now in ruins, but was formerly the resi-
dence of the Brice family, who now call themselves Bruce,
was the ancient palace of the Bishop of Connor.

In the townland of Crossmary there is a small plot of
ground occupying the summit of an eminence, at the western
side of the parish, where human bones, portions of strong
oaken coffins, fragments of sculptured sandstone — one of
which seemed to have been a part of a cross — a small brass
altar-bell, several silver and one gold coin, querns, and the

86 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

ron spindle of a quern, so-called Danes pipes, &c, have
been found. There is a tradition among the inhabitants
that this place gives name to the townland, and that it was
the site of a nunnery.

In the townland of Ballyhill there was a tumulus, which
was nearly circular, being about 45 feet in diameter, and
about 7 feet in height. This tumulus was opened in 1858,
when there were found four stones inclosing a space (i filled
with glutinous clay, mixed with ashes, at the bottom of
which, at the depth of five inches, two semi-circular stones
were found, on which, in all probability, rested the sepul-
chral urn, in which the ashes of the chief, to whose honour
this tumulus was erected, were placed. Two or three feet
to the north of this were found twenty-seven amber beads,
of rude shapes, all pierced through the centre, and to all
appearance formerly used as a necklace ; the portion of the
beads where the apertures are, being worn, as if by the
friction of a string. Several rude specimens of flint arrow-
heads were also found in the clay (of the tumulus 1), together
with a number of globular stones, about the size of grape-
shot, possibly used as sling-stones. No human remains were
found, with the exception of a small bone, supposed to be
one of the small wrist bones of a human body." — Hist. Journ.
of Achaeol, Vol. VI. On the summit of a hill in the same
townland are the imperfect traces of the parapet of a circular
fort, sixty-eight feet in diameter. In Castle Dobbs demesne
are the imperfect remains of two circular earthen forts.
Three similar earthen raths have, within memory, been des-
troyed in this parish. About fifty years ago, there was found
in the face of a gentle declivity in Ballyhill, the entrance to
a cave, which was excavated twenty-two feet long, four to six
feet wide, and five to seven feet high, in the limestone rock.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 87

There was formerly in a rocky knoll in the townland of
Dobbsland a cave rudely constructed of large stones. Seve-
ral other similar caves have been found within this parish.
In a bog which separates the townland of Ballyhill from the
parish of Templecorran, several objects of antiquity were
found, about a century and a half ago, among which were
portions of what is now called the Dalway Harp. Of this
Harp, unhappily, only fragments remain, namely, the har-
monic curve, or pin-board, and the fore-arm, the sound-board
having been lost or destroyed. These fragments are of great
interest, both on account of their elaborate and tasteful deco-
ration, and the Latin and Irish inscriptions, which they
preserve. " According to an old custom," says Mr. Henry
Joy, of Belfast, in his Historical and Critical Dissertation on
the Harp, printed in Bunting's Ancient Music, London, 1811,
" the instrument is supposed to be animated ; and, among
other matters, it informs us of the names of two harpers who
produced the finest music on it. By the pins, which remain
almost entire, it is found to have contained, in the row, forty-
five strings, besides seven in the centre, probably for unison
to the others, making in all fifty-two strings. Inconsequence of
the sound-board being lost, different attempts to ascertain its
scale have been unsuccessful. The fore-pillar appears to
be sallow, the harmonic curve of yew." The following is
the late Professor O'Curry's translation of the Irish inscrip-
tions : —

"These are they who were servitors to John Fitz-Edmond
(Fitzgerald), at Cluain (Cloyne) at the time that I was made, viz. :
the Steward, there, was James Fitz-John ; and Maurice Walsh was
our superintendent ; and Dermod Fitz-John, wine butler ; and John
Ruadan was beer butler ; and Philip Fitz-Donnell was cook there,
Anno Domini, 1621. Tiege O'Ruarc was chamberlain there ; and
James Russel was house-marshal ; and Maurice Fitz-Thomas, and

88 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Maurice Fitz-Edmond ; these were all direct attendants upon him.
Philip Fitzteige Magrath was tailor there ; Donnchadh Fitzteige
was carpenter — it was he who made me ; Giollapatrick Mac Cridan*
was my musician and harmonist ; and if I could have found a better,
him should I have, and Dermod Mac Cridan along with him, two
highly accomplished men, whom I had to nurse me. And on every
one of these may God have mercy on them all."

Beside the Irish inscription there is — " Ig. E. <£ E. B. Me
Fieri . . . Fecerunt Ego Sum Regina Citherarum. Plecto . . .
Vinco. Rego . . . monstra vivos . . . Musica Dei donum . . .
distractas solatur musica mentes ut sonus . . . transit sic gloria
mundi. Vincit Veritas. Donatus filius Thadei me fecit, spes
mea in Deo." Under the Royal Arms are those of Sir John
Eitz-Edmond Fitzgerald, of Cloyne, and those of his wife,
Ellen Barry. He was married in 1611, and died in 1640.

In order to understand the local history of the district, it
is necessary to speak of the families of Dalway and Dobbs.
John Dalway, the first of the Dalway family, who sectled in
this country, landed at Carrickfergus with Walter Devereux,
Earl of Essex, August 20th, 1573. He married Jane
Ni-Brian O'Neill, a sister of Sir Phelim M'Brian O'Neill :
In consequence of this marriage, he obtained a grant of
the tough of Braden Island. The following is a copy of
the original agreement : —

"Mem. — That I, John Dalwaye, of Carrickfergus, Gent., doe
promisie to performe these Covenants and Conditions following ; that
is to say, during my own naturall life, I am to pay for the tough
of Brinny Island (Braid Island), in the country of North Claudyboy,
but her Majestys rent according the Survey ; and after me Deceas

* This name, derived from Cruit — a harp, seems to signify Son of the Harper.
They were obviously hereditary harpers. It is somewhat numerous through the
County of Antrim, under the form MacCruddin. They are all passionately fond of
music, and several of them have written rustic poetry of considerable merit. It is
not improbable that this harp has been carried from Munster to Ballyhill by their
ancestor, in one of his professional tours. It is at present preserved in the Royal
Irish Academy.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 89

that my Heirs shall pay to Shane M 'Bryan O'Neill, or his Heirs,

portionally, according as the rest of the freeholders of the said

Shane's Country, shall pay by the acre, or estimation. In witness

whereof, I have here put my hand, 17th Feb., 1592.

JOHN DALWAYE.

Signed and delivered in the pre- ) Moses Hill, John Brown,
sence of us whose names ensue \ A. Bagenall, Ha....esman.

After Shane O'Neill bad been declared a rebel, bis lands
became forfeited to the Crown, John Dallowaye, however,
obtained, on the lOcb of April, 1606, a grant from James I.
of bis own lands, at the rent of .£13 English. Having had
these lands re-granted by the Crown, it would seem that
Dallwaye was required, as usual in such cases, to build a
bawn. The bawn was probably erected in 1609. It is still
in fair preservation ; a print of it is given in the Ulster
Journal of Archaeology, Vol. VX Its dimensions are — length,
133 feet; breadth, 106 ; original height of the walls, from
16 to 23 feet; height of the circular towers at its corners,
30 feet ; diameter of the towers inside, 12 feet; thickness
of the tower walls, 3 feet ; thickness of the curtain, 3 feet ;
height of the gateway, 12 feet. The bawn is simply a quad-
rangular enclosure, having a tower at each corner, and an
arched gateway between two of the towers. These towers
are still in good repair, with the exception of that at the
south-west corner, which fell many years ago. Two of them
are still inhabited ; and over the gateway is a large ring,
formerly used for a gallows. The family mansion was within
the walled space, previous to the erection of the present
mansion, which was built in 1794. There is preserved
among the family papers an " Agriment betwene Mr. Dall
way, synor, and William Miller, for putting up 4 staircases
to the four turrets, at 8 Lib. Ster. per piece. Dated 3 Janry.,
1632."

90 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

John Dalway had, by the daughter of Brian O'Neill,
one child, named Margaret, who married John Dobbs, to
whom he made a freehold lease of Castle Dobbs. He after-
wards became displeased with his daughter, Margaret Dobbs,
and when dying, in 1618, he bequeathed his estates to two
sons of his brother, Giles Dalway. A suit-at-law thereon
commenced between the parties, which was terminated by
arbitration only in 1625. By this award, the Cynament of
Ballynure, the lands of Castle Dobbs, and the reversion of
the family mansion in Carrickfergus were allotted to
Hercules Dobbs, the son of the above-mentioned Margaret
Dobbs, while the house and demesne of Ballyhill, or Bella-
hill, and the fee-farm rent of Braidisland, with the lands in
the liberty of Carrickfergus were allotted to John, son of
Giles Dalway.

The erection of Castle Dobbs is referred to in the Brief
Description of the County of Antrim, written by R. Dobbs,
in 1683, when he says that the house " is called Castle Dobbs
from a small castle here built by my grandfather."

The civil parish of Templecorran, though containing only
4753 acres, has the sites of several ancient churches.
Templecorran, at least under that name, does not appear in
the roll of the Pope Nicholas Taxation, nor in the Terrier,
but in the former document, immediately after the Church
of Villa Othewer, now Ballyedward, occur the Church of
Irve, with the Chapel of Brohenbury, the Church of Lochlat,
and the Church of Laslaynan, all of which appear to have
been in the present civil parish. In the Ulster Visitation,
of 1622, there is entered " Ecclesia de Temple-icorran, the
walles newly erected, but not roofed as yet. Rectory
possesst by the Bishop, as a mensal belonging to his Lop.'*
The ruins of Templecorran occupy a situation near the

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 91

summit of the high ground overhanging Larne Lough.
They stand in the townland of Forthill, a little to the south
of the village of Ballycarry. A drawing of this Church is
given in the Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. III. It seems in
its present form to have been erected about 1622, as stated
in the Ulster Visitation Book, but the foundations are sup-
posed to be of a much older date. The graveyard in ancient
times was much more extensive than it is at present, as
graves are found in the adjoining fields at a consider-
able distance from the present graveyard. The founda-
tions of several extensive buildings, which had very broad
walls have been found in the graveyard and in the adjoining
fields. Stone-lined graves, formed of slabs of white lime-
stone, have also been found ; these indicate a form of inter-
ment coeval with the introduction of Christianity.

In the townland of Whitehead there formerly stood, on
an eminence near the sea, a church, which, in more recent
times, was called " the Old Kirk," and the field in which it
stood is still known as " the Kirk Park." Not a vestige of
this church nor of the very extensive burial ground, in which
it stood, now remains. The foundations, which were very
broad, have been dug up within memory. " At the White-
Head, in the parish of Broad Island, at the Temple-corran,
there is a spring well which runs very plentifully out of the
limestone rocks unto the sea ; not to be seen at low water j
much frequented by the neighbouring people on May eve,
yearly." — Description of Co. Antrim, by R. Dobbs, a.d. 1683.
Adjoining the north-west side of the village of Ballycarry,
and about 250 yards north-west of the Church of Temple-
corran, human bones, remains of coffins, and other indica-
tions of a graveyard, have been found. The foundations of
a quadrangular building were also discovered in the same

92 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

plot of ground : upon a part of these foundations a dwelling-
house has been built.

In the townland of North-West Ballycarry and about 350
yards south-west of Templecorran Church, human bones and
other evidences of a graveyard were discovered, about the
year 1838.

Ecclesia de Lislaynan was valued in the Pope Nicholas
Taxation at 2 marks. Lislaynan has disappeared as a town
land name, but there is no doubt that it is the modern
Forthill. A.D. 1333, John Gernoun held five carucates in
Lyslynan under William de Burgo. A.D. 1380, Francis de
Bruyn re-leased to Edmund de Mortuo Mari, Earl of March,
all right, &c, in the Manor of Lysleynan in Ultonia. — Col.
Cane. Sib., Vol. I., p. 108. In this townland, in the face
of a trifling crag, which rises in the steep eastern declivity
of the lofty bank overhanging Larne Lough appears the en-
trance to an artificial cave, cut into the rock ; its length is
1 2 feet ; width, about 6" feet 6 inches ; and heigh t, 6 feet 8
inches. On each side of its doorway are grooves for the
reception of jambs. — See Ord. Mem. MS.

In a small heap of loose stones, in the Townland of
Carnbrock, probably the remains of the Cam, which gave
name to the townland, a funeral urn was found about the
year 1815. A similar urn was found in the Townland of
Whitehead, about the year 1822. The only fort in the
civil parish occupies a conspicuous position on the isthmus
which connects this parish with Island Magee ; it is in the
Townland of Bentra. Within the first forty years of this
century, no less than eleven of these structures were
destroyed in Templecorran. In Bentra, a standing stone, 5
feet high, occupies a somewhat conspicuous position. It
has been carefully erected, and its base is firmly secured by

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 93

smaller stones. A grave enclosed at its sides and ends by-
flat stones, covered by a single undressed stone, and paved
at the bottom, which contained only black mould and a few
bones, was discovered in the year 1810, in S. W. Ballycarry,
at the distance of about half a mile S. W. of Templecorran
Church. — See Ord. Mem. MS.

In that part of Blackhill, known as the Mutton Burn,
about a mile west of Templecorran Old Church, some graves
were discovered, in the year 1822, about two feet under the
surface. " Beneath neatly paved spots of triangular form,
each side of which was about five feet long, some rich,
blackish coloured earth, rather greasy and moist, was
discovered. Wood ashes, and some small bits of charred
wood, were also discovered under these pavements, as also
an immense quantity of thin, rude, and illegible silver coins,
together with great numbers of little glass beads, of black,
blue, and greenish colours. No bones or urns were found
about them. The pavements were at irregular distances, of
a few feet apart. The stones were not dressed, but were flat
and closely fitted. There were probably 13 or 14 graves,
three of which bore on their surfaces, indication of having
been used as hearths." — Ord. Mem. MS.

The rectorial tithes of this parish, belonged, as we have
seen in the Report of the Visitation of 1622, to the bishop ;
they were farmed to the proprietors of the lands, hence the
Parliamentary Report of 1833, returns David Kerr, Esq.,
as lessee of the rectorial tithes of Broad Island, with four
acres of glebeland, next the east side of the Church of Broad
Island — annual rent £14 10s 9d; annual fine £Q 6s Od, held
under the usual 21 year renewal lease. The tuogh of Braden
Island, or as it is now called Broad Island, which is still the
territorial name for the Parish of Templecorran, consisted of

94 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the Parishes of Templecorran and Kilroot. This territory
-was formally granted by the king to John Dalway, on the
4th of July, 1608; and on the 26th of May, 1609, John
Dalway granted to William Edmonstone. This Edmonstone
was the seventh in descent from Sir William Edmonstone,
of Culloden, who married Mary, daughter of Robert III. of
Scotland, and obtained in 1452, through this connection, the
lordship of Duntreath in Stirlingshire. William, above-
mentioned, mortgaged Duntreath, and invested the money
thus raised in land in Templecorran. The lands included in
Dalway s grant to him were Leslenan, Whiteheade, Holmans-
town, Spearpointstowu, Islandogree, Allfracken, Readhall,
Harington-Savage, Mologhmoyle, and Ballinvantroe. The
boundaries were from the ford called " Cloobford," by a bog
or marshy ground, called Bel ty de-Ford, near the village of
Beltyde, thence to a lough called Lough-Duffe, thence to
the Raven's Rock, thence by Clogh bally-Edward to
Lissinisky, according to the mears between Brayd-Island
and Magherimorne to Lough-Larne, and by the said lough
to Fort Alexander, thence to a little stream, dividing Island-
Maghie and Brayd-Island to Castle Chichester, lately built,
and so on by the south part of the said Castle to the sea,
thence by the sea to Cloghocrye, otherwise the Partition,
trench, which are the bounds between Spearpointstown and
the lands of Kil route and Ballymacmurtagh to Island
O'Dreyne, and so forward upon the south-west side of a
small river to a trench or ditch, to be made by the lands of
John Dobbs, of Ballyhill, directly to a place where a stream,
coming from the bog at Clubbford, fell into the same river,
running near Castle-Dobbe, and so forward by that stream to
the bog aforesaid, near Clubbford. The Grant also conveyed
the advowson of the rectory and vicarage of Temple-Curran,

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 95

with free warren, hunting, &c, reserving, however,
Courts Leet and Baron, tithes, wrecks of the sea, and all
the lands which John Dobb held, or which said Dalway had,
which were not mentioned, to be contained within the
boundaries expressed, also common of turbary, free common
of pasture, without number, for himself and tenants, through
all that great waste, heath, or common, lying toward the
Ward, and N.W. of Loughmorne and Beltyde. All this
territory was granted at an annual rent of £160 9s. 4d., with
heriots and other feudal payments. After John Edmonston's
death his son, Archibald, sold as much of this estate as was
necessary to free Dunrealh from the mortgage. Archibald's
son, also named Archibald, took a most active part in
the revolution of 1688 against King James. The grandson
of this adherent of the House of Orange sold, in 1784, the
Red Hall, property of M. Kerr. It remained in the pos-
session of his family, until the 15th of January, 1869, when
it and other properties of David Stewart Kerr were sold
by order of the Landed Estates Court,

The estate contained 4,709 acres, of the annual value of
£4,677 17s 3d. It was sold in separate lots at £117,960 :
Lot 1, comprising the greater part of Red-hall and portions of
the townlands of Aldfrick and Forthill, bought by Mr. John
M'Auley, Esq., for £20,400 ; Lot 2, comprising the greater
portion of Aldfrick, and a small portion of Redhall, bought
in trust for £6,000 ; Lot 3, comprising North West Bally-
carry, bought in trust for £9,900 ; Lot 4, consisting of Fort-
hill, bought by Joseph Biggar, sen., for £10,000 ; Lot 5, the
townland of South- West Bally carry, bought in trust for
£9,300 ; Lot 6, the townland of Bentra, bought in trust for
£14,500 ; Lot 7, the tov/nland of Lockstown and part of
Aldrick, bought by Mr. M'Auliffe, for £6,800; Lot 8, the

96 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

townland of Blackhill, bought by Joseph Murphy, Esq.,
for 9,150 ; Lot 9, the townland of Carnbrock, bought in
trust for £6,410 ; Lot 10, the townlands of Whitehead and
Knocknagullagh were bought in trust for £23,000. All the
head rents, &c, were placed on Lot 1, which contained the
Mansion House of Redhall, and the other lots were sold in-
demnified from them.*

PRIESTS AND CHURCHES.

In treating of the history of the Catholic Church in
Carrickfergus, after what is called " the Reformation," it
becomes necessary to supplement what we have already said
(P. 66) regarding the Franciscan Friary by the following
extract from a MS. History of the Irish Franciscan
Convents, written about the year 1630, by Father Francis
Ward.t " The Convent of Carrickfergus, was founded
in the maritime city of that name, in the Diocese of
Connor, in Ulster, about the time of St. Francis, and
was formerly placed in the Custody J of Drogheda. It

* Lots 2 and 6 are now the property of Sir Robert Harte, K. C. B. ;
Lots 3, 5, and 7, of George M'Auliffe, Esq. ; Lot 9, of Conway R.
Dobbs, Esq. ; Lot 10, of John Raphael, Esq.

+ The MS. is preserved among the St. Isidore Collection of MSS.
and located in the Francsican Convent, Merchants' Quay, Dublin.
There can be little doubt that the writer is Father Hugh Ward
(called in religion, Father Francis Ward), at whose instigation,
Michael O'Clery commenced the compilation of the annals of the
Four Masters. He wrote in St. Anthony's Lonvain, where he was
Guardian ; he died in 1635, after having collected valuable materials
for the History of Ireland, which Colgan, a member of the same
house and order, afterwards used in his Acta Sanctorum Hlbernice.

5 Custody. — Among the Franciscans a Province was divided into
several custodies. The Province of Ireland was, at a General
Chapter, held at Narbonne, a.d. 1260, divided into the custodies of
Dublin, Cashel, Cork, Drogheda, and Nenagh.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 97

was reformed * in the year 1457, at the instance of Neale
M'Ardle O'Niell.f Tt was suppressed in the year 1560, the
friars having been driven off and dispersed by the heretics, and
some of them killed. It was at last totally destroyed by Arthur
Chichester, Viceroy of Ireland, and remained vacant till the
year 1626, when Father Francis Mathew, £ being provincial,
a residence was erected in the district, and F. Edmond
Cana, a theologian and preacher, was appointed superior.
The first founder of that convent, was Hugh De Lacy,junr.,
Earl of Ulster, who died in the habit of the Friars-Minors,
in the year 1253, and was buried there. O'Neill was also
buried there, as well as many other noblemen, of both
families of that district."

The following is the List of the Guardians of the Francis-
can Convent of Carrickfergus, and the date of the Chapters
at which they were elected. It is copied from the Francis-
can Records, some of which are at present preserved in

* Reformed. St. Francis drew up a rule for his disciples, which
was approved of by Pope Honorius III. in 1223, when, however, a
spirit of seculiar agrandizement, obscured the humility of the poor
Friars Minors, a number of convents reformed themselves, and
observed the strict letter of the rule ; they were termed, Conventuals.
The other cod vents kept the rule as far as circumstances would
allow and were termed, Observantines.

+ This was Niall, son of Con, son of Hugh, son of Brian O'Niell.
— See Four Masters, a.d. 1497.

$ Father Francis Mathew was born in Cork, was professed a
Franciscan in the College of St. Anthony, of Lonvain, became Guar-
dian of Cork, afterwards provincial, and was appointed, in 1629,
Guardian of St. Anthony's, Lonvain. He was an eminent Canonist,
and wrote some works under the name of Edmundus Ursulanus.
It was to oppose his Examen Juridicum, that Paul Harris wrote the
work Arktomastix, "a whip for the bear," Ursulanus. Father
Mathew was put to death for the faith in Cork, in 1644.

G

98

DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the Franciscan Convent of Dublin,
Drogheda : —

Guardians of Carrickfergus.
V.P. Fr. Paul O'Neill,
V. A. P. Hugo O'Doman, ...

Do.

Do.

,, Patritius Lynchye, S.T.L., . .
,, Cornelius Cuilian, ...

Do.

,, Hugh O'Doman, ...
,, Bon. Conneus (Conway ?)
,, Bonav. Conneus, S.T.L.,
,, Hugo Dornan, *
Do.

Do.

Do.
,, Patrit Gavan Sen. ...

Do.

Do.

Paul O'Neill, t

,, Bonav. Matheus (M'Mahon)...

Do.

,, Anth. Mulfaile,

,, Bened. Magee,

,, Anton. Correnan, ...

,, Michl. Gormley, ...

,, Ant. Ultanus.

,, James Pattan,

and some in that of

Elected.
loth August, 1629.
8th Febuary, 1645.
5th September, 1647.
4th February, 1648.
17th August, 1650.
9th October, 1658.
26th February, 1659.
8th September, 1661.
18th October, 1669.
21st November; 1672.
23rd August, 1675.
23rd January, 1676.
24th August, 1678.

28th April, 1680.

14th March, 1681.

13th June, 1683.

23rd August, 1684.

27th January, 1685.

15th August. 16S7.

5th May, 1689.

24th August, 1691.

1 8th Feby., 1693.

25th July, 1697.

26th July, 1699.

9th July, 1702.

17th Oct., 1702.

* Primate Oliver Plunket, writing to Rome, Dec. 30th, 1670, says—" In the Con-
vent of Carrickfergus, in the diocese of Connor, there are ten Franciscans, of whom
only five are priests ; amongst these, Hugo O'Dornan and Dauiel O'Mellau are dis-
tin<niished in preaching. There is also a certain Paul O'Haran, who is well versed
in literature." At this period the Franciscans of Carrickfergus were located in the
barony of Carag.

f The Lord Lieutenant and Council wrote, in Nov., 1679, to the Sovereign and
Burgesses of Belfast, informing them, that Friar Paul O'Neill— considering how long
Belfast is like to be without shipping bound for Flanders, or other foreign place,
except Norway— is permitted, if he give security for shipping himself at any other
port, to do so. The late Father George Crolly had a silver chalice, on which was
inscribed, Fr. Paulus O'Neill, me fieri fecit pro Conventu Cragfergus, 167—. It is, at
present, somewhere in Dublin. Friar Paul was grandson of Hugh Mergach, the
brother of Con O'Neill, of Castlereagh.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS.

99

V.A.P. Francis M'Donnell,
,, Philip Brady,
,, Francis M'Donnell,
Do.

,, Jacobus Conway, ..

Philip M'Mahon, Ex.
, , Anton Gallagher, . . .
,, Philip MacHugh, ...
,, Ant. Conmay,*
,, Bernardus M'Mahon,

Pat M'Donnell,
,, Anth. MacGillmurray,
,, Bon. Boylan, Ex. Dif.
,, Anth. MacGillmurray,
,, Lucas Peppard, S.T.L.
,, Anth. Donlevy,

Do.
,, Pat Quin,

Do.
,, Francis Gallagher,
,, Francis Gallagher,

Anth. O'Donnell, ...
Do.
;, Michael M'Mullan,

Do.
,, Pat Quin,
,, Edward M'Hugh, ...
,, Bernard Devlin,
,, Francis Kiernan, ...
,, Patrick Kiernan, ...
,, Patrick Kiernen, ...
,, Michael Gallagher,

Do.
,, Philip M'Gauran, ...

Do.
,, Michael Gallagher,

13th Nov., 1703.
9th June, 1705.
13th Nov., 1706.
8th May, 1708.
12th Oct., 1709.
Dif. ... 7th June, 1711.

13th October, 1714.
10th May, 1716.
16th October, 1717.
24th July, 1739.
25th May, 1741.
16th August, 1742.
16th April, 1744.
12th August, 1745.
12th February, 1747.
22nd August, 1748.
I6th February, 1751.
26th August, 1751.
26th February, 1753.
26th August, 1754.
24th September, 1755.
29th August, 1757.
19th February, 1759.
18th August, 1760.
19th October, 1761.
22nd August, 1763.
17th April, 1765.
18th August, 1766.
12th November, 1767-
28th August, 1769.
8th June, 1770.
31st August, 1772.
11th November, 1773.
1st July, 1776.
30th April, 1778.
19th July, 1779.

* Among the Slate Papers, preserved in the Birmingham Tower, Dublin Castle,
are the Chapter Acts, of two chapters, of the Franciscans. These were secured for
the Government, by some successful priest-hunter of the day. One is the acts of a
Chapter, held in Dublin, in 1717, and it is remarkable, that it gives not Ant. Conmay,
but V.A.P.F. James Shiel, as the Guardian elected for Carrickfergus. The other
" Acts" are of a Chapter, held at Dublin, November 17th, 1729, when Bonaventure
Boylane, was elected Guardian of Carrickfergus.

100

DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Y.A.P. Philip Magauran, ...

Patrick Mally, Ex Cust.

Do.

Do.
Thomas Maguire, ...
Anth. M 'Clinton, ...

Do.

Michael Gillick

James Cassidy,

Francis Tally,

John Cahill, S.T.L. and Ex Dif.

Patrick Brady,

Patrick Brady, Ex- Gustos et

Jubilarius,
Antonius Dardin ...
JohnF. M'Cabe, Dif.,
Peter Magauran,
John F. M'Cabe, Ex. Dif. ...

Fr. J. Beatty,

Do.

Antonius O'Reilly, Ex. Cust.,

Ex. Dif,

Thomas Cassidy, ...

Do.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Do.

Vacat,

Edmund ' Sheehy ...

Dionysius O'Reordan,

Aloysius Cavanagh,

Do.

Michael Cavanagh,

Do.

Michael Cavanagh,

Joseph Cleary,
Do.

29th May, 17SL
22nd July, 1780.
12th May, 1784.
25th July, 1785.
9th May, 1787.
11th July, 1788.
18th May, 1790.
11th July, 1791.
23rd July. 1793.
14th July, 1794.
180U.
12th July, 1815.

15th July, 1822.
14th January, 1824.
13th July, 1825.

1827.

1828.
28th April, 1830.
14th July, 1831.
14th Nov., 1832.
23rd July, 1834.
13th July, 1836.
19th July, 1837.

19th August, 1840.
25th Oct., 1843.
29th Jan., 1845.
26 August, 1846.
18th Jan., 1848.
18th July, 1849.
23rd January, 1851.
13th October, 1852.
21st September, 1853.
18th July, 1856.
14th July, 1857.
20th April, 185S.

1860.
9th April, 1861.

1863.
6th October, 1864.
7th June, 1866. d

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 101

V.A.P. Ambrose M'Auley, ... ... 1867.

Do. ... ... 1869.

The Franciscan Order has ceased since 1870 to appoint
titular guardians.

The religion of Carrickfergus was always that of the
reigning sovereign. The Secretary of Queen Mary's viceroy,
the Earl of Sussex, thus records a visit which that nobleman,
made to Carrickfergus in 1556 : — " On Thursday, the 9th of
July, my Lord Deputy removed, came to Knockfergus, and
there he was received by the Mayor and the Bishop of Downe
(Eugene Magenis), in the church, and service done, as afore-
said, and there offered ; from thence he went to the Castle
and there was received with shot of guns."

The Catholicity of Carrickfergus appears to have disappeaed
very early in the following reign, for Queen Elizabeth, in
the charter, which she granted to the town in the 11th year
of her reign, says that she grants it because of " the behaviour
of the said Town and Corporation to us and to our service,
far exceeding the other towns and cities in our said realm of
Ireland, especially by the ecclesiastical obedience of all the
inhabitants, and their usual repairing to the church and
embracing God's true religion and service, a matter very
acceptable to us ; in consideration whereof, and in hopes of
the continuance in the good cause and carriage by them,"
*fec.

In 1596, we find the Mayor, in the name of the Corpora-
tion, requesting the Lord Deputy and Council " to procure
a daye's paye from eache " of the soldiers in garrison to re-
pair the church. In this memorial it is stated, that the con-
gregation could not be contained in the ft queare," and that
the body of the " churche " was then " uncovered so as the
audianc '; was not so numerous as it otherwise would be.

102 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

On the 2nd of December, 1606, we find the Mayor request-
ing from the Governor of the town some of the money
granted for building the town walls to repair the church, and
" that the nominated Papists maie be compelled either to
come to churche, or to avoid the towne." — Toivn Records.

The facility, with which the Catholics of Carrickfergus
were manufactured into Protestants, was used as an argu-
ment by Sir John Davys, that penal courses would turn the
Irish into Protestants. " The Lord Deputy (Chichester)
told him the priests within his government* of Knockfergus
had, for the most part, taken the oath of supremacy, and
Sir Foulk Conway, the Deputy Governor there, told him
that since the proclamation published, they came to him
and offered to conform themselves." — Letter, dated 8th Dec,
1605, Calendar, Vol. I., p. 372. This is perhaps exaggerated,

Sir John Davys writes to Salisbury, in the same strain, on the 14th
of October, 1611 (S. P. Ireland, Vol. 231, 82) :— " Touching that
proceeding against recusants, though, perhaps, at this time it be not
fit to strain that string too high, yet assuredly, whensoever His
Majesty shall be pleased to prosecute this business with effect, it
will appear, that no Irishman will hazard his life or estate for the
difference of religion between them and those in England ; for
Geraldus Cambrensis will write that all other nations of Christendom
are honoured for their martyrs (as England for St. Alban, and France
for St. Dennys, &c), but Ireland, though it has many saints, did
never produce any martyr. No man ever heard or read of an Irish
martyr. " When Giraldus accused us of having no martyrs, Matthew,
Archbishop of Cashel, very truly retorted — " The Irish were never,
on any occasion, accustomed to lay violent hands on the saints of
God, but a people has now come into our country, who know how to
make martyrs and have often done so." The sacrifices of Irishmen
for the Faith are too well known to require vindication ; by the
favour of God's grace, our country enjoys the honour of having had
martyrs on earth and has now their patronage in Heaven ; their
blood has been shed by foreign hands, but never by their own
countrymen.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 103

but it shows the state to which religion was reduced when
Father Francis Mathew, the Provincial of the Franciscans,
sent a few of his order, in the year 1626, to the neighbour-
hood of their old convent. Over the new colony he placed
Father Edmund Cana. Dr. Reeves published in the Ulster
Journal, Vol. II., a translation of " An Itinerary in Ireland,
from the relation of the Rev. Father Brother Edmund Mac
Cana." The MS. is now preserved in the Burgundian
Library, at Brussels, to which it was carried, no doubt, from
the Irish Franciscan Monastery at Lonvain. The Itinerary
mentions the principal churches from Carlingford Lough
round by Downpatrick, and on to the neighbourhood of
Carrickfergus. He mentions the murder of the aged Abbot
of Comber, in 1643, and states that his own grandfather
was an eye-witness of the burning of the Church of Down-
patrick ; from which we may infer, that he was a native of
the County of Down, and wrote, or perhaps being too old to
write, related, to some one, who did write the Itinerary,
some short time after 1643. He says " that he met persons,
who, when boys, saw the aged Abbot, MacCura," of Wood-
burn. It is found by inquisition that the abbot died in
Island Magee, and it is remarkable that the last church
mentioned in the Itinerarg is that of Kilroot. It would
seem, therefore, that the temporary "residence" or " Locus
Refugii " of the Franciscans, which was presided over by
Father Edmund MacCana, was somewhere not far distant
from Kilroot, perhaps in Island Magee. It does not appear,
however, that the ministrations of Father MacCana, or
M'Cann, as his name would be written now, with his brother
Franciscans had much effect with the people of Carrickfergus,
If on his side were " virtue and truth," on the opposite side
were the freemen's lands and the privileges of the freemen of

104 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Carrickfergus, which could not be enjoyed by any Catholic.
Formerly there was presented to each Quarter Sessions Grand
Jury a number of inquiries ; M'Skimin has given the one
presented on the 18th of October, 1692, which, among other
things contained the following : —

"Whether there be any person or persons that hath maliciously,
either in print or writing, sett forth or spoken in contempt of tbe
Religion now used and established in the Church of this Kingdom."

"Whether there be any person or persons that doth teach or
preach any other doctrine than is allowed by God's laws, his
Majestie's authority, and Book of Common Prayer."

"Whether there be any Seminary Priests, Jesuits or Fryars,
maintained within the county, and the maintainers and receivers of
them."

" Whether there be any that deny the king's authority and
supremacy, or do maintain the supremacy of the Bishop of Home."

" If any freeman or his wife hath not good English."

" If any hath spoken any Irish in the court, in the presence of
the Mayor, unless he were commanded by the Mayor to interpret."

Each of these offences was considered as of equal, or
perhaps of greater importance, and was to be inquired into
with the same care as —

"If any freeman hath made unreverend noise in the court, or in
presence of the mayor, ' whether there be any scolds which have
offended, and were not punished ' for their offence."

" If any keep geese in the streets. If anj^ keep any swine within
the town, which goe or pass through the streets, or any forbidden
place, and especially unwringed."

The scanty notices of Catholics, or Priests, which the
records present, only serve to show that they had almost
disappeared from Carrickfergus, and we only hear of their
existence when they are called up to be punished for the
crime of professing their religion. Carte's " Life of Ormond"
mentions that Patrick O'Donnell, a Jesuit, was confined
here on the 23rd of November, 1641. There were 26
Catholic Priests and School-master? confined in Carrickfergus

THE PAKISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 105

in July, 1656, prior to their being transported to the Island
of Barbadoea. — M'Skimmon's Hist. ofC. 3rd Ed., p. 370.

Friar Paul O'JSTeil was confined in Carrickfergus in 1679,
and in 1717 the grand jury cess was charged with .£10
granted to John Hamilton, Sheriff, for transmitting priest
M'Donnell and Alice Usher to Dublin; it is probable that
M'DonnelPs crime was in connection with the Jacobite
rebellion of 1715. These cases were however connected
with the public prison of Carrickfergus. R. Dobbs, writing
in 1683, says of Carrickfergus, " nor is there at this day one
known papist within its walls. The greatest number of the
inhabitants are Scotch Presbyterians, but the most con-
siderable and valuable are of the Church of England." In
1692 a return was made of the persons within the county of
the town of Carrickfergus, between the ages of 16 and 60 ;
their numbers were 469, exclusive of alderman, burgesses,
and the officers of the corporation ; and of the 469 persons,
71 were noticed as beinsc Roman Catholics. In 1704, three
of the inhabitants of the county of the town bailed several
of the priests of Co. Antrim, who were registered that year ;
the names of these bailsmen were Hugh Hamill, Yeoman,
Henry Dun, Yeoman, and Richard Horseman, Gentleman.*
The following letters are preserved in the Record Office,
Dublin : —

Carrickfergus, 23rd June, 1714.
To their Excellencies the Lords Justices.

May it please your Excellencies. Upon receipt of the directions
sent to me by his grace the Duke of Shrewsbury, and your Excel-
lencies, dated 28th of May, I took all care to observe the contents

* Richard Horseman's father, Anthony Horseman, was Mayor of
Carrickfergus for several years ; the family had considerable property
■around Carrickfergus ; Richard died in 1720, leaving his property to
his son Anthony, who mortgaged his property, which was finally
sold by a decree of the Court of Exchequer, in 1769.

106 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

of them, as I had done of the Proclamation, dated the 2nd of Feb.
last ; and upon the strictest inquiry I cannot hear that any persons
have transported themselves out of the county for the service of the
Pretender, or any Sovereign Prince, or that any person has enlisted
any person for such service, nor that any children of Papists have
been sent beyond the seas for foreign education, and, that as we
have no Popish Priest inhabiting in this county, so I know of none
that is not registered, who does officiate as Parish Priest here, nor
of any Regulors of the Popish Clergy, who execute any ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, nor of any Popish School-Masters, or Papists who do
bear arms without licences from the Government. And I beg leave
humbly to assure your Excellencies, that, as I have hitherto carefully
observed the several Proclamations and directions that have been
set forth on the occasion, so that I shall continue the same, and
return to your Excellencies, from time to time, what proceedings
shall be had in pursuance of the same,

I am your Excellencies most obedient humble servant,

Samll. Davys, Mayor. "

" Carrickfergus, October 30th 1714.
Sir,

I reced. yrs. of 23rd inst., signifying their Excellencies, the Lord
Justices and Council pleasure, that I return an account of what
Popish Priests or other persons are now in gaols of the county, under
sentence of transportation. In obedience thereof I give you the
trouble of this, desiriDg you would be pleased to acquaint their
Excellencies, that there is not any Popish Priests, or any other in
the gaols of this county, that was admitted to bail. I have also
published the Proclamations you sent, in the usual manner, and
what further commands you shall send me shall be faithfully observed
by him who is

your very humble servant,

Samll. Davys, Mayor."
To Edward Budgell, Esq.

Major Kerr writes from Carrickfergus on the 14th of
July, 1716, about one O'Hagau, who came from Scotland
with five persons in a boat, and landed at a small bay,
communed with the heads of the Papists, and spent money
freely — he wonders that the Government has not a barrack
opposite the Highlands, " that are inhabited by many clans of

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 107

insolent Papists, who awe the Protestants and are at the

back of the family of Antrim."

The following letters are preserved among the State

Papers, in the Birmingham Tower, Dublin Castle : —

" Carrickfergus, the 13th of Obr., 1731.
May it please yr Grace,

In obedience to your Lopp's of the 6th inst.
I have made a strict inquiry concerning any reputed ffryarys and
uunnerys, within the Corporacion, and doe find that there is not
any reputed nunnerys, ffryarys, nor reputed nuns or ffryars, within
the Towne & Corporacion ; which is most humbly certified by
May it please yr Grace,

Your most obedient humble servant,

Francis Ellis, Mayr. *

Henry Oocksedge, who seems to have been a Hearth-
money Collector, writes to the Parliamentary Committee : —

" Carrickfergus, June 8th, 1764.
— The church here is in good repair, and well supplied. No con-
vents, Mass-houses, or other religious assemblies of the Popish
religion in this parish, but there is one Phelix Scullion, a Parish
Priest, who, in summer time, frequently says Mass in the fields, and

in the winter, in some of his parishioners' houses. There are

several Itinerant Preachers who frequent this parish on stated days ;
by some they are called Seceders, and by others, Swadlers. Their
followers here, in general, were the most reprobate of the other pro-
fessions, but now boast of their enlightened understanding and
superlative perfection and grace. They have no particular Meeting-
house, and assemble in our Market-House, Shire-Hall, or County-of-
the-town-House, whose principles (if fixed) are only known to them-
selves, and entirely unintelligible to others. "

In 1766, the House of Lords resolved that the several
archbishops and bishops should direct the Parish Min-
isters to return a list of the several families in their
respective parishes " distinguishing which are Protestants
and which are Papists, as also a list of the several reputed
Popish priests and friars residing in their parishes ;" to this
the following answer was returned : — " Carrickfergus, April

108 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

21st, 1760 — There is neither friary nor friar, Mass-house
nor Popish priest in the Parish — Established Church, 202
families ; Presbyterians, 334 families ; Papists, 35 families ;
Anabaptists, 1 family."

The parish minister of Templecorran returned a list of
139 families, all Protestants ;* and on the same sheet is given

* These were Presbyterians ; it was in the parish of Templecorran
that the congregation of Jonathan Swift, afterwards Dean Swift, is
said to have been limited to his celebrated " dearly beloved Roger."
K. Dobbs, in his Description of the County of Antrim, dated Castle
Dobs, the 14th of May, 1683, says :— " The parish of Kilroot is but
small ; the whole tithes not worth forty pounds, and the great tithes
belong to the Earl of Donegall ; the small tithes to the Prebendary,
•one Milne, a Scotchman ; the inhabitants (except my family, and
some half-dozen that live under me) all Presbyterians and Scotch,
not one natural Irish in the parish, nor papist ; and may afford 100
men. Next adjoining to this parish, adjacent to the sea, is Broad
Island, known by the name of Templecorran ; the small tithes be-
long to the Prebendary, aforesaid ; the great, to the bishops ; and
may be worth fifty pounds per annum. The south end of this parish
makes part of Carrickfergus Bay, called the White Head, whereof I
have spoken in the account of Carrickfergus, only then I omitted
to tell you, there is here some quantities of alabaster, in several
places near the sea. Here is, likewise, some show of coal, but no
trial made that I hear of, the greatest appearance being within full
sea-mark and low ; high hills above this parish, to the east and
north-east, divided by a ditch and Loughlarn from Island Magee,
is excellent ground for all sorts of grain, meadow, and pasture,
being well furnished with limestone and marble ; the last never
used, unless sometimes turned up with the plough, and the people so
generally given to ploughing, that meadow is neither desired nor
preserved, except what they cannot plough. There are two orchards
yielding good fruit — I mean apples and pears, and belong to two of
the name of Edmonston ; the inhabitants all Scotch, not one Irish-
man nor Papist ; all Presbyterians, except the parson and clerk, who
1 think, is his son ; the church is in a small town or village, called
Ballycarry, and a meeting-house between the church and the town.
This parish hath three country mills in it : the Old Mill, New Mill,
and "Whitehead Mill." — The MacdonnelVs, of Antrim, Hill. Bally-

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 109

a list of 70 families belonging to the parish of Kilroot, to
which is appended this note : —

" Donald M'Elvenan is the only Papist in the parishes of Temple-
corran and Kilroot. — Mass has not been said in either of these
parishes, in the memory of the oldest man living.

March 19th, 1766.

In 1813, the population of the town of Carrickfergus was
1,183, of whom 119 were Catholics; the population of the
Irish Quarter and Scotch Quarter was 1,467, of whom 75
were Catholics ; the population of both town and county of
the town amounted to 6,225, of whom 554 were Catholics.
In 1881, the population of both the town and county of the
town was 10,009, of whom 1,169 were Catholics.

In 1881, the population of the civil parish of Kilroot was
503, of whom 28 were Catholics ; and in the civil parish of
Templecorran the population was 1,258, of whom 69 were
Catholics.

M'Skimin, in his History of Carrickfergus says — " The
only Roman Catholic clergymen known to officiate here

are— In 1732, Moore; 1739, Cairns; 1757,

Edward M'llea ; 1761, Felix Scullion; 1788, F. M. V.
M'Carey ; 1802, Thomas Cassidy ; 1813, Constantine
Boyle; 1814, Daniel M'Mullan ; 1820, Arthur O'Neill."
Even yet we know little more concerning the clergymen
who officiated in the extensive districts, of which the county
of the town of Carrickfergus formed but a small part.

The first priest on the list is Edmond Moore, whose name
appears in " A List of the names of the Popish Priests, as
they are Registered at a General Sessions of the Peace, held

carry is so named, from the carry or causeway near it, by which,
before the erection of the bridge, people passed over to Island
Magee.

HO DIOCESE OF CONNOE.

for the said County of Antrim, at Carrickfergus, the 12th of
July, 1704, and were since returned up to the Council
Office, in Dublin, pursuant to a Clause in the late Act of
Parliament, entitled — ' An Act for Registering the Popish
Clergy.' " In this List, under the heading of the " Parishes
of which they pretend to be Popish Priests," are enumerated
the parishes in which each clergyman officiated ; according
to it, Father Moore had in his charge : the parishes of
Tickmacrevan, Raloo, Kilwaughter and Carrickfergus. We
see, therefore, that under his charge, at that period, were
the various districts at present included in the present
Catholic parishes of Carrickfergus, Larne, Ballyclare and
Grlenarm. He was, in 1704, aged fifty -eight years, and he
then resided in Glenarm. The Registration states that he
was ordained a.d. 1669, at Ardpatrick, in the County of
Meath, by Patrick Plunket, Bishop of Meath. Edmund
Moore is returned in a list of the priests of Down and
Connor, which Primate Oliver Plunket sent to Rome, in
1670. He is also entered in a list of persons attainted, at
Banb ridge, on the 10th of July, 1691, for having been active
supporters of James II. It would seem from M'Skhnin
that his name appears, as officiating, in the county of the
town of Carrickfergus, in 1732, when he was consequently
S6 years of age. At what period this persecuted priest,
who, at that time, might have been wearied with the world,
went to his reward, we know not. M'Skimin mentions his

successor, Cairns, as officiating in 1739. Of this priest

we know nothing ; we must admit the same regarding his
successors : Edward M'llea, who officiated in 1757 ; and Felix
Scullion, whom we have seen described by Henry Cocksedge,
in 1764, as "a Parish Priest, who, in summer time,
frequently says Mass in the fields, and in the winter, in

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. Ill

some of his parishioner's houses." We know, however, too
much of F. M. V. M' Carey, whom M'Skimin enters as
officiating, in 1788. He was a native of the parish of
Culfeightrin, and became a member of the Dominican
Convent of Coleraine. At that period the friars of the
Coleraine Convent were scattered through the counties of
Derry and Antrim, where they officiated generally as assis-
tants to the secular priests. He was sent to the Dominican
Convent, in Lisbon, where he was ordained, in 1781, and
was appointed to Larne and Carrickfergus, in 1787. "When
M'Carey was appointed to the parish which then com-
prised the present parishes of Carrickfergus, Larne, and
Ballyclare, there was not a church in all that exten-
sive district. He erected the Chapel of Ballygowan, and
a temporary chapel at Carrickfergus, and he published a
very instructive little volume, entitled, " The Sure Way to
Heaven ; being a New Volume, such as never before
published in English, on the Truths of Salvation ; Compiled
and published by the Eev. James Mathew MacCary, Catholic
Rector of Carrickfergus and Larne, S. 0. P. Hy-br-no-rm
(of the Holy Order of Preachers in Ireland — Irish Domini-
cans) Prior of Coleraine, Pestorator and Director of the
Confraternities of the White Scapular and Posaries in the
Diocess of Down and Connor. — The First Edition, Belfast,
Printed a.d. 1797." In January, 1798, he delivered a very
loyal address to his parishioners, which was afterwards
published. In the meantime the temptations thrown in his
way, while he was collecting money for the chapels, and
while he was selling his book, were fast undermining the
early training, which the poor friar had received in the
Dominican Novitiate of Lisbon. Falling into intemperate
habits, for which he was suspended, he long continued to

112 DIOCESE OF CONNOK.

disgrace the Church, and outrage society, by celebrating
illicit marriages. At length, weighed down with years,.
many of which were spent in gaol, he died a very penitent
and edifying death, in the General Hospital, Belfast, in 1833,.
and was assisted in his last moments by Dr. Denvir, who
was then parish priest of Downpatrick.*

After the suspension of Friar MacCary, the Rev. Thomas-
Cassidy, was appointed in 1 802 ; it is said that he was a
native of Moyagall, in the Parish of Maghera, Co. Derry.

* Any of the various advertisements, put forth by Friar MacCary,
is sufficient to prove that the unfortunate man had become demented.
One "dated Belfast, July 21st, a.d. 1811," begins "to whom it
may concern. The Most Reverend James Matthew Vincent
MacCary, by christian, lawful marriage, a surviving son of Cornelius
MacCary and Margaret MacCary, who when living, were land pos-
sessors of Carey Hills, Carey Mills, and Carey Mill-Townlands,
tenements, &c, of the Parish of Culfaughtrin. . . . He the
abovesaid, has attentively, regularly attended into Christian,
Apostolic, Evangelical, Catholic, Ecclesiastical, Regal, Royal,
Regular College Studies, upwards of 8 years successively ; and had
the desired honour of receiving Christian, Apostolic, Evangelical,
Catholic, Ecclesiastic, Royal, Regular, Patriarchal, Most Reverend
Ecclesiastic Regal Ordination of Priesthood, Most Reverend in a.d.
1781, in the Regal Metropolis of Portugal. . . . He is for up-
wards of 24 years past successively, the only Most Reverend, Irish,
Christian, Catholic, Royal, Registered, Constitutional, Lawful Parish
Priest, &c, of Carrickfergus and Larne, and of their annexed
parishes. . . . He celebrates and administers all Christian
Sacraments, . . . teaching, preaching and celebrating all ecclesi-
astic rites, in the Irish and English Languages, without any injury
or infringement on the Regal, Legal, Loyal Christian Prerogatives
of His present Royal Majesty's Royal Authority," &c. Another
document similarly worded, informed the public that he took the
oath according to law, and was registered in the year 1793. In a
third document, he claims £3,000, as a small remuneration for his
services. His Majesty's representatives, however, generally re-
warded MacCary with a prison, when perhaps they should have
consigned him to a lunatic asylum.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS 113

He died of fever, at his lodgings, in the house of a farmer
named James Agnew, in the Townland of Craiganorne, in
the year 1812, or 1813.

From an article in the Lame Reporter, of 1872, on the
Parishes of Kilwaughter and Ballyhempton, which was
written by the Eev. Classon Porter, we extract the following :
" We may add, that within the old walls of the ancient
Church of Kilwaughter, were laid, upwards of fifty years
ago, the mortal remains of the Eev. Thomas Cassidy, who
was parish priest of Lame and Carrickfergus, from 1802
till 1819. Mr. Cassidy died at Mackeystown, near
Craiganorne, where he had spent the latter part of his life ;
and his funeral was long remembered in Kilwaughter, from
the circumstance, which, to the Presbyterian spectators,
appeared to be remarkable, but which is an invariable
feature at the interment of priests in the Roman Catholic
Church, that his coffin was laid in the grave, in a position,
with respect to the points of the compass, directly the
opposite of that, in which the coffins of laymen are deposited
in the earth." Mr. Porter is in error regarding the date of
Father Cassidy's death. Father Cassidy was succeeded by the
Rev. Constantine O'Boyle. This clergyman was a native of the
Parish of Duneane, he held the parish only a short time, for
in the year 18 14, he accepted the curacy of Drummaul,
under his uncle, the Eev, Peter O'Boyle ; and the Eev. John
M'Greevey, was appointed to Carrickfergus and Larne. The
appointment of Father M'Greevey, was displeasing to some
of the parishioners, and after having experienced the effects
of an organized opposition,* he accepted, after a few months,

* The opposition was headed by one William Havron, an impor-
tant person in his day, who had a Cotton Mill at Glynn, and
exported cured meat to Demerara. One of Havron's objections to

H

114 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

tLe Parish of Lower Mourne. (See Down and Connor,
Vol. I, p. 30.

The parish was then (a.d. 1814), conferred on the Rev.
Daniel MacMullan, who was a native of the Parish of
Loughinisland. Father MacMullan, as parish priest, became
also chaplain to the County of Antrim Gaol. At that time
the medical officer of the gaol, was one Doctor Stewart,
whom Father MacMullan had the misfortune to offend, by
speaking disparagingly of his skill, and by recommending
some of the prisoners to get medicine and advice from Mr.
Fersyth, a surgeon in Carrickfergus. At the same time the
chaplain had the imprudence, encouraged by the loose
discipline then observed, to drink punch with some debtors,
who had been known to him, when he was officiating in
Belfast, and who had formerly been in respectable circum-
stances. Dr. Stewart, brought the case under the notice of
the judge, at the Summer Assizes of 1815, and again at the
Spring Assizes of 1816. Father MacMullan admitted the
charge, but denied, that he either brought the whiskey into
the prison, or knew how it was brought in ; and the judge
dismissed him from the chaplaincy. Finding that his
usefulness in the parish was much impaired by being
debarred from attending the prisoners, he resigned the parish
in March, 1817, but continued to officiate till May, he was
shortly afterwards appointed to a mission in the Isle of
Man. He afterwards returned to his native diocese, and
officiated as curate, in the Parish of Kilmore, where he died
May 10th, 1829. Father MacMullan, notwithstanding the

Father M'Greevey, was that his hair was red. Many years after-
wards Father O'Neill told, in one of his sermons, that Havron, in
his old age, became poor and blind, and the people remarked, when
they saw him led to the chapel by his little grand- daughter, that he
could not tell what colour the priest's hair was.

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 115

imprudence he was guilty of when chaplain of the gaol,
was a clergyman of irreproachable character, a distinguished
pulpit orator, and a gifted singer.

The Rev. Arthur O'Neill, was appointed in March, 1817,
but did not take possession of the parish, until the 17th of
May. His appointment as chaplain of the gaol, is entered
in the Minutes of the Grand Jury. — " We appoint the Rev.
Arthur O'Neill, Roman Catholic chaplain of the Gaol of
the County of Antrim, in room of Daniel MacMullan, late
chaplain, discharged for misconduct. Robert Thompson,
Foreman, 21st March, 1817." Father O'Neill was a native of
Killymurris, in the Parish of Finvoy, where he was born on
the 14th of May, 1783. He was ordained on the 29th of
August, 1808. These two dates are taken from an entry,
which he made in his breviary. He officiated for some time
as curate in Rasharkin, but, principally in the districts of
Ballymoney and Bushmills, which were then attached to
Rasharkin. About 1811, he was sent to officiate in
Derryaghy, where he continued until the appointment of
Father Magreevy in August, 1812. He then entered the
College of Maynooth, where he studied Philosophy and
Theology. The following memorandum occurs in a register
kept by him, " 18th June, 1815, I. A. O'N. entered on the
parochial duties of the Parish of Ballymoney, Bushmills,
<fcc, &c." From Ballymoney he was appointed to the United
Parish of Carrickfergus and Larne. An entry, in his
handwriting, shows that the receipts of his new parish,
during the first year of his occupancy, amounted to
£di lis 4d, of which £30, was from the Grand Jury, for the
chaplaincy of the gaol. In 1823, Father Henry M'Laughlin
was appointed from the curacy of Culfeightrin, to that of
Carrickfergus and Larne, when Father O'Niell entered into

116 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

a singular compact with him, the terms of which are
contained in the following curious agreement : —

"Nov. 1st, 1823 — Memorandum of an Agreement made
between Rev. Henry M'Laughlin, and Rev. A. O'Neill, of
Larne, Ballygowan, &c , viz. : — That Rev. A. O'Neill is to
provide meat, drink, washing, and lodging for said H.
M'Laughlin, for twelve calendar months, ensuing the above
date, and pay him £12 Sterling, for his services for said
time, by a collection or otherwise — and that said Mr.
M'Laughlin is to return all money received, to Mr. O'Neill,
except such as he receives for the Off. of the S.S. of the
Altar. N.B. — That Mr. M'Laughlin is to receive and use
to his own acct. the Off. of the Altar, at whatever altar he
attends during the above mentioned year.
I agree to the above,

Henry M'Laughlin.
This agreement was read and agreed to by me,

Arthur O'Neill, on the 19th December, 1823."

Father O'Neill, during his incumbency, erected chapels
in Carrickfergus and Larne, and that of St. Columbkille ;
he died at his residence, in Carrickfergus, on the 28th of
October, 1851, and was interred in the adjoining graveyard.
A Latin inscription was written for his tomb-stone, but as
the execution of the inscription was intrusted to the stone-
cutter, he has made it a monument, that only testifies to his
own ignorance of the Latin language.

After the death of Father O'Neill, the parish was ad-
ministered by his curate, Father John M'Erlain, the present
parish priest of Ballymoney, until Easter, 1852, when the
districts of Ballygowan and Larne were constituted into a
separate parish, to which the Rev. Henry O'Loughlin, C.C.,
Belfast, was appointed. The Rev. John Cunningham was

THE PARISH OF CARRICKFERGUS. 117

appointed at the same time parish priest of the Parish of
Carrickfergus. Though there was no formal demarcation of
the boundaries, the present Parish of Carrickfergus consists
of the entire civil Parishes of Carrickfergus and Kilroot,
together with the civil Parish of Templecorran, except the
Townlands of Aldfreck, Lockstown, and Redhall.

Father Cunningham was a native of the townland of
Moneyscalp, in the parish of Kilcoo. After studying in our
Diocesan College, he obtained a free burse in the Irish
College of Paris, as being a relative of Abbe Maginn, who,
in 1677, founded the College des Lombards, which is repre-
sented by the present Irish College. He was ordained in
Belfast, by the Most Rev. Dr. Denvir, on the 5th of May,
1842, and was sent, shortly afterwards, as curate, to Duneane,
from which he was appointed the first parish priest of the
newly-constituted parish of Portrush. From that he was
appointed to Carrickfergus, in March, 1852, which he held
till November, 1869, when he was appointed to the Parish
of Duneane. Carrickfergus was administered, from that
date, by the Rev. John M 'Curry, afterwards parish priest
of Bailee, until the appointment of the Rev. Charles
S. Quin.

Father Quin is a native of the Parish of Lower Craggan,
€o. Armagh. He entered the Logic Class in the College of
Maynooth, in September, 1856, and was ordained in July,
1859, by the Most Rev. Dr. Cullen, Archbishop of Dublin.
Previous to his appointment to Carrickfergus, he officiated
in the Parishes of Belfast, Ahoghill and Saul. He was
appointed parish priest of Carrickfergus, September 7th,
1870.

118 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

CHURCHES.

During the time of persecution, no priest resided in what
constitutes the present Parish of Carrickfergus, and when
they occasionally visited it, Mass, according to tradition, was
celebrated at that place, near the Commons, still called the
Priest's Bush, or in a house belonging to some Catholic. In
1791, Friar M'Garry fitted up a small house, in Middle
Division, to assist the furnishing of which, ^£5 was granted,
at Vestry, on the 23rd of April, 1792.* This temporary
Mass-house was abandoned after Friar M'Garry was sus-
pended, and the priests used to assemble the people, for Mass,
at the foot of Briantang Brae, about a mile and a half from
Carrickfergus, where, in bad weather, they were accommo-
dated with the use of a house. This practice was continued
up to 1826. Father O'Neill obtained, in 1825, from E.
Smith, Esq., for the sum of .£68 5s, a lease for 999 years,
of an Irish rood of ground, on Barley Hill, Carrickfergus,
together with a passage to it from Bryanstang Boad, at the
annual rent of ^£1 2s 9d. He thereupon commenced the erec-
tion ot the present church. In 1826, he obtained from tbe
same gentleman, an additional 22 perches, at the rent of 10/6
per year. The church was dedicated by Dr. C roily, on the 8th
of October, 1826, when Father O'Neill preached the opening
sermon.

St. Columbkille's Church, on the road from Carrickfergus
to Ballyclare, was erected, by Father O'Neill, on a garden,
bequeathed for that purpose by Hugh Mulholland. It was
dedicated by Dr. Denvir, on the 9th of August, 1840 ; and
Dr. Crolly, the Primate ot All Ireland, preached on the
occasion. This church was rebuilt and enlarged, in 1882,
by Father Quin.

* Pariah Register, quoted by M'Skimin.

THE PARISH OF LAME.

5j'HE Parish of Larne, though its boundaries are not yet
; accurately defined, extends over three and a half town-
lands of the civil Parish of Templecorran, which lie north of
the Ballycarry Stream ; the whole of the civil Parishes of
Island Ma.gee. Glynn, Inver, Larne, and the townlands of
Ballyhampton, Ballykeel, Drumnahoe, and Glebe, belonging
to the civil Parish of Kilwaughter.

" Ecclesia de Loghlat" was valued in the Taxation of Pope
Nicholas, at 5 marks. This church is called in Primate
Dowdall's Register, " Ecclesia de Lagnolottyn." According
to the Inquisition taken at Antrim, in 1605, the Prior of
Inch was seized, of the church or chapel of Langualattin,
with the tithes of two townlands, in the tough of Braden
Island. The Ulster Visitation Booh, of 1622, reports,
" Ecclesia de Lagnahlitten, noe church, nor walles, but a
small thing belonging to Templ-i-coran Rectory, impropriate
to the Abbey of Inch, possessed by Mr. Edmondstown, by
right of John Dal way, deceased." This church, locally called
Lignalitter, occupied a retired and peaceful situation in a
little hollow, in the Townland of Redhall, about half-a-mile
north-east of the Church of Templecorran, and a little to the
north of the road leading from Ballycarry to Island Magee ;
not a vestige of it is now remaining. The burial-ground which

120 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

contained the foundations of the church, was subjected to
tillage about the commencement of this century, and one of
the old headstones was removed to Templecorran.

"The Church of Irve with the Chapel of Brokenbury " is
valued in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, at 4 marks. In
the Register of Primate Dowdall " Ecclesia Irwo" is entered.
A.D. 1215, the king directed the justiciary of Ireland to
reinstate Robert Talebot in his land of Irewe, which had
been seized into the king's hand, because the said Robert
was among his opponents in the Castle of Crakfergus. —
Hardy's Rot. Claus. Vol. I., p. 223, Rot. Pat. Vol. I., p. 191.
A.D. 1215, the Justiciary of Ireland was ordered to restore
to Robert Talbote his lande of Brakenberghe, which Hugh
de Lasey gave him, but whereof he was disseized, because
he was taken in Crakfergus ; and which had passed into the
hands of William of Brakenberg, who had joined the king's
enemies. — Hardy's Rot. Claus. pp. 226, 241, and Rot. Pat.
191. A.D. 1291, the charge preferred against William of
Brackenben*, having proved false, the Justiciary was directed
to restore his land, notwithstanding that seizin had been
granted Robert Talebot.— Hardy's Rot. CI. p. 398, See
Reeves's Eccl. Antiq. At the distance of seven furlongs north
of Templecorran stands Redhall House, which has given
name to the Townland of Redhall. The stable yard of
Redhall House, about seven furlongs north of Temple-
corran, occupies the site of a church and cemetery. Stone-
lined graves and fragments of oaken coffins, of massive thick-
ness, have been dug up there. The older name Irve or Irwo
(apparently Aireamh, pron. arav — arable land) seems to
have been displaced by the modern name, Redhall.

Near the bottom of Lockstown Bog, skeletons, apparently
those of young and grown persons, were found, previous

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 121

to the year 1810. One of them was dressed in a frock of
tanned leather, buttoned with metal buttons from the chin
downwards. The body was in a wonderful state of preser-
vation.

In the townland of Aldfreck, a curious subterranean
stream sinks into the earth, at a small circular pit called the
" Salt Hole." It was here that, on the 4th of November,
1597, James M'Sorley McDonnell concealed a detachment
of his highlanders, when preparing for the battle, in which
he slew Sir John Chichester (Sir Arthur's brother, and
Governor of Carrickfergus), The following account of the
battle was drawn up and sent to Burghley, by Lieutenant
Harte, one of the few English survivors. It is here some-
what shortened : —

"About 1111 myles from the town (Carrickfergus), one myle and
a half distant from a hill, whereupon the enemy made their stande,
the Governor caused our avant garde to make a stande, untill the
battel (the main body) came up, and in the mean time called Capten
Edwarde Northe and the rest of the officers, and asked their opinions
what they thought best to be done. Two of our horsemen came up
that used wordes to this effect : ' ' Ys y t not a shame we should stand
heer to be braved by a company of base beggars 1 " which wordes
Sir John hearinge, he presently vowed to give them a chardge, which
was thus ordered — Himself and Cap. Maunsell wer with the horse-
men, who wer about fortye. The battel contayned sixtye pikes or
therabouts, was led by Capten Northe and Cap. Miriman, the ser-
jant major's lieftenant, and Cap. Charlies Maunsell's lieftenant.
Cap. Mirman's lieft. ledd the forelorne hope, contayning nyne pikes
and twelve or fyfteen shott. The Governor's serjant, and the ser-
jant major's lieftenant had the leadinge of two loose winges of shott,
which were to second our horse. Marching in this order toward
the enimye, they forsook the hill whereon they stood, and the Gover-
nor commanded the lieftenant of horse to chardge, which he did,
but not six of his company followed him. In which charge himself
was very sore shotte in the showlder. The bad performance of the
rest of our horse was a great encowradgement to the enemye, for
they presently wheeled about and broke upon our loose winges of

122 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

shotte, and before our battel could come up, our loose wings were
utterly defeated. The lieftenant of forelorne hope was shott, wherof
he dyed ; and mysealf lickwies shott. The lieftenant of the horse
being shott, the Governor sent him into the towne for powder and a
fresh supply of men, the enemye bad well perceived our wants, and
so plyed us with fresh volleys of shott, that our shott were beaten into
the battel, and cried out they had not powder, which the enemye
hearinge, they pursued us so close with their horse, that they killed
our men within two pikes lengths of our battel ; and our horse would
never give them any one charge ; nor all our commander could
doe, could neither make our horse take the rear, nor our battel to
stand, after one chardge, on the syde of the hill, whear Cap. Maun-
sell was slaine ; at which place I saw the Governor strike a corporal
and 111 or 1111 soldiers of his owne and hurt them sore with his
sword, because they would not stand, and there he was shott in the
legge, whereupon he tooke his horse, and about half-a-myle on this
syde, coming downe a hill, was shott in the head, which was his
deathe-wound. Then the soldiers, being utterly dismayed, pre-
sently dissolved their battel. Cap. Miriman and lieftenant Barrye
did with their horses take the river (Larne Lough), and swime over
into Ilande M'Gee, and mysealf, being near unto them, adventured
to follow them, and so by swiminge over saved my lief. Capten
Northe escaped very badly, his horse was shott 111 or 1111 tymes
under him. Now was Moyses Hill come to the towne, with direc-
tions from the Governor to draw all the forces, which were left, with
whom Cap. Charles Maunsel, who was then very sick, yssued forth,
and came within half-a-mile of the place, where we were overthrown,
insomuch that the enemy's horse had gotten between him and the
towne, which had greatly endangered him, had not the Capten
providently foreseen that present danger and made a speedy and
soldierly retrayte to the towne. The number of men that were lost
were about eyght or nyne score, and there were hurt between thirty
and forty, most of which recovered. Officers slain — Sir John Chi-
chester, his lieftenant and both his serjants, Lieftenant Price, Lief-
tenant to Captain Charles Maunsell, both his serjants and his drum,
Lief. Walshe, lief, to Captain Miriman, his ensign, serjants and
drum. Officers hurt — Cap. Miriman, Lief. Hill, Lief. Harte, the
Lieftenant Harte being present at the overthroe."

Egerton Constable, of Carrickfergus, was favoured with
the dead bodies of Sir John Chichester and Capten Maunsell,

THE PARISH OF LARN'E. 123

but their heads* were cut off, and sent by M'Donnell, to the
Earl of Tyrone. In consequence of the fatal day of Temple-
corran, Sir Arthur Chichester, ever after, nourished a most
vindictive feeling against the MacDonnell's.

Island Magee was in early times known by the name
Semhne (pronounced Shevne), or Rinn Semhne — " the Plain
of Shevne, or the Peninsula of Shevne." It is recorded in
the Annals of the Four Masters, at a.m. 2859, that
Neimhidh (pronounced Nevy), who led a colony into Ireland,
erected the Fort " Rath-Cimbaeith," (pronounced Rah-
Kimbee) in Seimhne. The same annalists record again,
under a.m. 3529, the erection of another fort named
" Rath-Cuinceadha (pronounced nearly Rahingha), in
Seimhne; and they record under a.m. 3656, "the Battle of
Cul-Athgurt in Seimhne." Colgan, in his notice of the
Church of Imleach Cluana, in his notes to the tripartile Life
of St. Patrick, says "Magh-Semne; that is the Plain of Semne,
in Dalaradia, which was cleared of wood by King Neimhidh
and his sons, a.m. 2859, as the Four Masters relate." The
host of Seimhne was a poetic expression, used sometimes by the
Bards, as in the poem on the Battle of Magh-Rath, to ex
press the Ultonians, whom they so denominated from the
remarkable peninsula, in the Ultonian territory. Dr.
Reeves thinks that Rinn Seimhne — the point — or Peninsula
of Seimhne, is the part of Ireland, which Ptolemy in his
geography, writes under the Greek form, Isamnion Acron,
which we might translate " the Point of Isamny." Baedan,

* Lodge's Peerage says, "Sir John was taken prisoner, and be-
headed upon a stone, at the head of the Glynn," and adds in a note,
" In King James's Reign, MacDonnell going one day to view the
family monument, in St. Nicholas's Church, at Carrickfergus, and
seeing Sir John's Statue thereon, asked how the De'ell he came to get
his head again, for he was sure he hud ance ta'en itfrae him."

124 DIOCESE OP CONNOR.

King of Ulidia, who died in 581, was a powerful prince.
An ancient poem in the Book of Lecan, represents him, as
receiving tribute from Minister, Connaught, Skye, Man,
and adds " It was Baedan MacCairill, who cleared Manann
'Isle of Man) of the Foreigners ; and to Uladh,* belongs its
custody from that time down. Aodhan MacGabhrain, King
of Alba (Scotland), made submission to Baedan at Bos-na-
Biogh in Semhne." Bos-na-Biogh, " the wood (also the
point) of the kings," in Island Magee cannot now be inden-
tified. According to the Book of Rights, the King of Ulster
was entitled to

Thrice fifty very good cloaks from Semhne,

Here for all j
And thrice fifty good cows of the herd,

In two days.

At what time the district changed its name is not exactly
known. An account of the County of Antrim, supposed to
have been written in 1598, mentions Island Magee, and adds
" the inhabitants thereof are Magies, from whom it hath the
name." Dubourdieu's Antrim, p. 620. Dr. O' Donovan in
his notes to the Book of Rights, says "It is also stated that
the Families of O'Floinn (O'Flin or O'Lyn), <fcc, of Magh
Line (Moylinny), and MacAedha (Magee) of Binn Sibhne,
now Island Magee, are of the race of Colla Uais. When
Essex had failed to conquer all Ulster, he asked for a grant

* The abbots of Bangor and Saul had extensive lands in the Isle
of Man ; these lands were situated in the Parish of Kirkpatrick,
where they formed six out of the forty-one quarter-lands into which
the parish is divided ; and for legal purposes they were considered
a barony. A Tour through the Isle of Man, by John Feltham,
published in 1798, says : " The barony of Bangor and Sabal, situated
in this parish, consists of six computed, and seven real quarter-lands.
His Grace the Duke of Athol has a grant of this barony, for a term
of years, from the Crown, fourteen of which (1797) are unexpried."

THE PAHISH OF LARNE. 125

of the Barony of Farney, in the Gounty of Monaghan, and
Island Magee, together with the command of 100 horse, and
200 foot. " As touching his demand for MacGuys Island,"
said Sir Henry Sydney, " your Majesty may esteem that you
have made a good purchase for yourself, to have such a
tenant, who, besides obedience — which is rather to be
desired, than generally looked for in these parts— may in
time, by building, planting, and settling there, draw such a
consent and liking of others to fancy his neighbourhood, as
benefit may grow to your cotfers, honour to your realm, and
safety to many of your good subjects." R. Dobbs, who
wrote, in 1683, the Description of the County of Antrim, says
of Island Magee. " This island once belonged to the Earl
of Essex, who was beheaded in the time of Queen Elizabeth,
his patent was once in my hands, and after (by what means
I know not), enjoyed by Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy
of Ireland, who set a lease of it to Sir Moses Hill, and the
inheritance is now in the same family, and the lease in
the Hills." The lease granted to Sir Moses Hill, was
a lease for years, and has been from time to time renewed.
The rights under that lease are vested in the Lord
Dungannon braneh of the descendants of Sir Moses. In
the case, John Doe. Lessee of Lord Dungannon, v. David
Kerr, Esq., M.P., tried at Belfast, July, 1839, it was stated
that the title of the Dungannon Family to Island Magee,
was derived from a lease granted by the Earl of Donegal in
1666, for a term of years, at an annual rent. In accordance
with a clause in the lease, it was surrendered to the lessor, and
a new lease was granted in 1769, for the residue of the term
of 61 years, at £200 per annum, in consideration of the sum
of £18,000. Before the expiration of that lease, Lord
Dungannon obtained a reversionary lease, for a term of
years, on paying £4,000.

126 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

On entering the Peninsula of Island Magee. at its most
southern extremity, Castle Chichester first presents itself.
Pdchard Dobbs writing in 1683, says of it —

"At the south-east end of this island, stands Castle Chichester,
built by Sir Moses Hill, a square pile, now without a roof, and I find
such a castle all patentees were thus obliged to build ; it stands
within Carabine shot to the sea, and now I am speaking of this
castle, it brings a story to my mind, which will hardly be put into
your atlas. When Sir Foulke Conway (from which the Earl of
Conway enjoys Killultagh), was the Governor of Carrickfergus, and
Moses Hill lived at Chichester, who, having invited the Governor to
the country, ordered his butler, the night before, that he should,
when they came to hard drinking, have some bottles of water ready
for him, and ply the Governor with wine ; the butler (being an Irish
boy), instead of observing his master's commands, when the hard
time came, gave his master wine, and the water to the Governor, so
Sir Moses could not rise out of his chair, when the Governor took
leave of him, and thanked him for his meat more than his drink,
which put Sir Moses into a great passion, not apprehending then,
how he had been served, but next morning, examining his boy, he
was sensible that he drank wine, and the Governor water ; and
threatening to have the butler hanged, he received no other answer
from the butler, than an oath, and that he knew no reason why he
that paid for the wine, should drink water, and the Governor drink
wine, that paid nothing for it, which answer it seems, served the
boy's turn, for I myself have seen him, a little odd (but brisk) man,
and lived eight or ten years, after the breaking out of the rebellion
in 41."

The castle is a square building, measuring externally 29
feet 6 inches, by 27 feet 6 inches, and internally 18 feet by
16 feet. It was 32 feet high, to the summit of the gables at
north-east and south-west sides, while the side walls are 25
feet high, and the walls are 5 feet 9 inches thick. The door
is on the south-east side, and on the same side are the remains
of the stone stairs, inside the walls, leading about half-way
to the top. On each of the four sides, are two port-holes or
windows, varying from 18 inches square, to 6 inches by 12,

THE PA1USH OF LARNE. 127

but in the inside, they splay, in some instances, to 3 feet
by 2 feet 6 inches, many of them, however, do not exceed 15
inches square. The castle was originally divided into three
stories. There are the remains of two chimneys, constructed
in the north west and north-east walls of the tower. There
are the remains of several causeways about the castle ; they
were paved with large stones ; they were nine feet wide, and
were secured at each side, by a row of large stones.

There was, until the beginning of the 18th century, a
considerable village or town at Castle Chichester, which had
a harbour, the remains of which are still to be seen. It had
a considerable trade with Scotland, and, it is said, that it was
from it that the mails were despatched to that country.
Richard Dobbs says : —

" About half-a-mile northward, the people draw up their fishing
boats, and many times boats of 16 or 18 tons land here from Scotland,
but there is no getting in but at full sea, and that dangerous enough
for strangers, the shore being clad with tumbling great stones, and
some about the port as big as a cottage. A little beyond Port Davy
stands a promontory called the Black-head, whereon stands a light-
house, and under it, from the sea, there is a large cave, where, I
have been told by the country, a piper went in, and was heard at a
place two miles thence under ground. He must have been very
little, for I have run a fox into it, with my dogs, and killed him at
the far end."

Slaughterford Bridge, which crosses a rivulet that flows
into Larne Lough and separates the civil parishes of Island
Magee and Templecorran. The bridge is said to have re-
ceived its name from the massacre in 1641 or 1642. The
river was crossed, in ancient times, and until about 150
years ago, by a ford or causeway. It is probable that near
this was fought the battle of Cul-Athgurt — ' the corner of
the field at the ford ' — which, as the ancient annalists record,

128 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

was fought by the monarch, Tighearnmas (pron. Tyernvas)r
a.m. 3656.

The memory of the victory gained by the old Milesian
Monarch is lost in the notoriety of the fearful massacre.
There is no event in Irish History that has been debated
with more party spirit than that massacre ; Catholic writers
asserted, that it took place early in November, 1641, that it
was the first of the cruel murders, that disgraced the country
in those days of blood, and that above three thousand men,
women, and children, perished on that fearful night. On
the other hand their opponents asserted, that it occurred on
Sunday, January 8th, 1642, when many of the darkest deeds
of blood had already been perpetrated by the Irish ; and if
we could rely on the accuracy of the depositions, January
8th, 1642, was the real date of the massacre, but the de-
positions were not taken until eleven years had elapsed, and
poor fugitives could not be expected to be very accurate, as
to the exact date. They also argue on the impossibility of so
many persons residing in so small a district ; and Leland, the
great apologist, of the Protestant party, represents, that
only thirty families were butchered on the occasion. The
population of the place may have, however, been increased
by many persons flying to that almost insulated locality
from dangers in other quarters. There is little doubt, that
the numbers of the slain were greatly exaggerated, neverthe-
less, they must have been so great, that similar massacres
were dwarfed into insignificance in comparison with it, and
the horrors of it became indelibly stamped on the memory
of the nation. Many of these were very terrible, thus
Catharine O'Gilmore testifies in her examination (see Down
and Connor, Vol. II., p. 203), that seventy-three persons were
slaughtered in Ballydavey, near Holywood, at Candlemas,

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 129

1642, nevertheless, the country, at that dismal period, was
in no way appalled by the outrage. The following deposi-
tions regarding this event, are preserved among the MSS. of
Trinity College. They do not tell the magnitude of the
massacre, as each deponent speaks only of what passed
under his own observation, and as it occurred at night, each
seems to have been in entire ignorance of what was occurring
in the house of his nearest neighbour.

The examination of Bryan M'Gee, aged 28 or thereabouts,
husbandman, of Lecory, in ye County of Downe, taken at Lisnegarvy,
ye 21 of Aprill, 1653. Who saith, that about the 8th of January,
1641 (1642), this Examint. then living in ye Isle M'Gee, in his father's
house, Owen M'Gee, in ye night, about bed time, some knookt. at ye
dore, and this Examint's mother opened ye dore, and there came in
Robert Browne, now living in ye Isle M'Gee, and his sen James,
with their swords drawn, and severall others of the neighbours, to
ye number of . . . and upwards, with pitchforks, staves, and other
weapons, of which said persons yt. are still living, are named as
followeth ; — Wm, Gillis, of ye Isle of M'Gee, Wm. Boyd, and Jas.
Boyd, of ye same, Alexander M'Alister, John M 'Master, — elder and
younger — and John Nelson, ye sonne of James Nelson, and they killed
at that time Jane, mother of this Examinant, and Margaret Camell,
and. . . . , and Doltagh M'Gee — brothers of this Examinant —
and Margaret, Mary, and Meia — sisters of this Examinant — but this
Examinant's father, and himselfe, and his two brothers, Henry
M'Gee, and Turlough M'Gee, escaped out at ye back dore, and lay
there upon the ground upon their bellyes, for about ye space of
an oure, till ye said Scotchmen* were gone away out of ye house, and
then they went in and lighted some straw, to see what was become
of ye said women and children, and found them all killed and
weltering in their blood, and wounded in several places, and all the
household goods taken away ; soe this Examinant's father, with his
said two brothers, and Bryan Boye M'Gee, who came wounded to
them out of the house, .... was Donnell M 'Gee's ; and where
the said Scotchmen had killed ye said Donnell and about ten persons
more the same evening, as the said Bryan Boy related to him, and
they went aJl to Knockfergus, and Coll. Hill not being in ye

* In the North of Ireland to this day Presbyterians are called "Scotch," and
Catholics are called " Irish."

I

130 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Garrison, some Scotchmen took them out at ye gate and killed ye said
Examinant's father, and his two brothers, and Bryan Boy M'Gee,
that was wounded at the Isle M'Gee ye night before, but it pleased
God this Examinant outran them, and soe escaped ; and being
demanded if any be yet living that escaped out of Donald M 'Gee's
house, says, that his sonne, Turlough, who was wounded that evening
in ye . . . neare . . .

his
Bryan X M'Gee,
marke.
The examination of Bryan Magee, of Lecorry, in County Downe,
aged thirty years or thereabouts, taken 27th May, 1653. Who being
duley sworn and examined, saith, having escaped from the massacree
which was committed upon several of their friends in the Isle Magee,
by the Scotch, he ran towards Carrickfergus, with his father, named
Owen Mader Magee, and others, and as they were coming in by ye
said Gate of Carrickfergus ; this Examinant's father related unto him
that, one, John M'Grath, who was a . . . without the gate in the
. . . him to come into his house, and not to go into towne, lest
some harme might befal him, by reason of a Proclamation, which had
been proclaimed for the slaying of all Irish Papists, which had gone
into Rebellion, but this Examinant said he would not, and goe they
went into ye town, and one, Capt. M'Cullough, met with them, who
examined of this Examinant's father, wherefore they came into towne,
who related unto him the whole matter, being for ye reason aforesaid,
because of ye several massacres that was committed nere theire . .
so M'Culloghe being Captain of the Guard, and some of his Soldiers
being also present, he, with his said father and the rest were taken
away by ye said soldiers, into ye guard, but by whose orders this
Examinant knoweth not, and having staid there a while, was thrust
out of the towne by a multitude of people, where they were all slaine
by them, except this Examinant, and one, Patt. Magee, who escaped
from them ; and being demanded if he knew any of ye said people
which were thrusting them out of the towne as aforesaid, saith, he
saw some of Capt. M'Culloghe's soldiers there, and knew not any of
them by name, except one, John M'Clure, who was a sergeant of the
said Capt. M'Cullogh's company, and now a prisoner in Gaol, who
was assisting with the rest of the people in putting his father and
the rest out of towne, as aforesaid, and further saith not.

Brian X Magee.
The examination of Finlay O'Donnell, aged 45 yeares, or there-
abouts, taken before us the 4th day of June, 1653, who being duly

THE PARISH OF LARKE. 131

sworn and examined, sayeth, that he was at ye Island Magee at ye
time of ye massacree, committed there upon ye Irish, but heard
nothing thereof till ye next morning after it was acted, and that he
knoweth not any persons that were actors in the said murthers, other
ye generall rumour of the countrey, that it was Capt. O'Dayre,* and
his company, then quartered at Ballymanagh (as this Examinant
heard) were ye principal actors in the said massacre, and further
•sayeth not.

The marke of Finlay X O'Donnell.

Taken by us, Owen Wynne,

Richard Bickerstaffe.

The examination and deposition of Elizabeth Gormally, of Duncroot,
Widdowe, in ye County of Antrym, who, being sworn before us.
saith, that in ye beginning of ye Rebellion, Exaaiinant lived in ye
Irish Quarter, neare to ye west part of Carrickfergus, and hearinge a
great noyse, and seeinge people passing to and fro upon ye Walls,
ran out of her house to knowe what ye matter was, and saw Bryan
Boy Magee cominge from ye Kay Gate, towards ye said house ; and
this Examinant further saith that a boy, who was a Drummer,
belonging to ye Garrison of Carrickfergus, met him, ye said Bryan
Boy Magee in his way, and with a Scotch whinyard gave him a stab
under ye right breast, and afterwards ye said boy gave him another
stab in ye right shoulder, and another stab under ye left breast
whereupon he, ye said Bryan Magee, ran hastily by her, Examinant's
doore ; and against ye west corner of ye said house John M'Owen
met ye said Bryan Boy Magee, who, with a Crabtree cudgell, that ye
said John M'Owen had then in his hands, he struck ye said Bryan
Magee three blows upon his head, so that he, ye said Bryan, fell to ye
ground, and that then the aforesaid John M'Owen left him, after
which the . . • Bryan Magee was stript naked, and then one, John
Wilson came up to him, and drew out his sword, and thrust it
through ye neck of ye said Bryan Magee, and cutt his throat ; and

* All the various traditions of the County of Antrim, collected by the officials
of the Ordinance Survey, represent Adair and his Ballymena men, as the principa
perpetrators of the massacre. According to the general tradition, many persons
were driven over the precipitous cliffs of the Gobbins, but according to the loca
tradition of Island Magee, it was only one woman who met that fearful death ; she
fled, according to the tradition, pursued by an officer, to the verge of the cliff, when,
suddenly turning on her pursuer, and clasping him in her arms, she threw herself
and him over the Gobbins,

132 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

ye cause of this, Examinant's knowledge of his death, is, that she was
present in ye place, and sawe it, ana further sayeth not.

Elizabeth Gormally.
Taken before us this 3rd of May, 1653.
Sam Konmell.
The examination of Captain James Cullogh, of the Isle of M'Gee,
aged 52 yeai's, or thereabouts, being duly sworn and examined, this
first day of June, 1653, sayeth, that at ye tyme of the massacre in ye
Isle of Magee, he, this Examinant, was Captain of a foot company in
this towne, in the regiment of Coll. Chichester, and that shortly
after ye said massacre, one, Jeannette Woodsyde, wife to Robert
Brown, now prisoner in this town, told this Examinant, that one,
Robert Glasgow, did kill . . . O'Sheall, with a shot of a horseman's
piece, and that one, called S. . . Henry was at ye house of Donnell
M'Art, and, as she heard, killed his wife ; and being asked what he
could tell concerning ye murder of Owen Medder Magee, Henry
Magee, and Bryan Magee, nere this towne, he, this Examinant, sayeth,
that at ye tyme ye said murder was acted, he was asleep upon a bed,
and could not tell who were the actors in the sayd murders, other-
wise, than that he was told Lt. ¥m, Dawbyn doeth acknowledge
himself to have had a hand therein, and that he would justify the
same, for that he did by orders ; and this Examinant sayeth, that
the reason of his knowledge is, for that said John M'le-loway, who
was then Corporal under this Examinant, told him soe, and further
sayeth not.

James Collo.
Taken by us, Owen Wynn,
John Deding.

The Examination and Deposition of Phillim Magee, of Castlereagh,
in the parish of Knock, and County of "Down, aged 35 years, or
thereabouts, taken before us the 9th of April, 1653, who sayeth,
that he, this Examinant, heard Ever M'Millin, who, in ye beginning
of ye Rebellion, lived in Magheramorne, and now is a servant to
Marshall Robert Clarke, say, that he had killed Walter Magee, this
Examinant's uncle, with an axe ; and further, that the said Ever
M'Millan, about two days after, murdered a child of Hugh Bane
O'Haveren's, of Island Magee, as will appear by the testimony of
Owen M'Guggan, and Margaret M'Guggan, his wife, now living in
Magheramorne ; and further the Examinant sayeth, that John
Elston, now living at Dobbsland, in the beginning of the Rebellion,
murthered Owen Magee, uncle to this Examinant, in the Irish

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 133

■Quarter, when Brian Magee, and Henry Magee were also killed at the
same tyme, and further sayeth not.

The townland of Temple-Effin preserves the name of an
ancient church, the rectory of which belonged to the abbot
of the Cistercian Abbey of Comber, in the County of Down.
An Inquisition, held at Carrickfergus in 1621, found that
James I., on the 20th of July, in the third of his reign, had
granted to James Hamilton the Chapel of Templenelafin in
Island Maghy, with the tithes of three townlands, called
Molastee. Hamilton, in the following May, transferred this
grant to Sir Arthur Chichester. Molastee is now Muldersly
Hill. This rectory extended over the southern parts of
Island Magee, and included the townland of Cloghfin. In
breaking up some ground, in 1840, on the summit of
Muldersleigh Hill, in that townland, a space about 40 or 50
yards square, was found to be a graveyard. The human
remains were resting on a rock, and but slightly covered
with earth. The graveyard was situated within 80 yards
east of the entrenchment on Muldersleigh Hill. This
entrenchment, which gives name to Muldersleigh — " the
bald height of the host — sluaiglC is a quadrangular enclosure,
the interior dimensions of which are 318 feet by 120 feet,
surrounded by an earthen parapet, from 16 to 28 feet broad,
and from 3 to 8 feet high on the exterior ; but as the
parapet has been formed from the earth taken from the
space enclosed, its interior height is from 2 to 3 feet more
than its external height. There is no trace of a ditch, nor
any remains of outworks, nor of ancient roads or causeways.
This military work may be the Rath-Cimbaeith (pron. Rah-
Kimbee), which our annalists relate was erected, a.m., 2839,
or Rath-Cuinceadha (pron. nearly Rahingha), which, they
say, was erected, a.m., 3656. It is remarkable that there

134 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

are no raths or forts in Island Magee, such as are to be
found almost in every townland in the other parts of the
County of Antrim, though it is possible one of these gave
name to the townland of Dundressan. On the summit of
Muldersleigh Hill are the ruins of a light-house, and at the
distance of about half-a-mile north east is an enormous
amorphous mass of trapp-rock lying on the beach, called the
Camp (or Kemp) Stone. It is 10 feet high, 21 feet long,
and 19 feet broad. This stone gives name to the townland of
Cloghfin— " the stone of Fionn-MacCumhaill (Fin MacCool)."
And there can be little doubt that Temple-Effin, and the
various forms, which that name assumes in ancient documents,
are intended for Temple Cloghfin — the Church of Cloghfin.
In the townland of Ballykeel, and about a quarter of a
mile from the shore of Lough Larne, is a graveyard, con-
taining the ruins of a very ancient church, measuring,
externally, 61 feet 6 inches, by 23 feet 6 inches, and, in-
ternally, 53 feet 6 inches, by 18 feet 6 inches. The walls,^
which have undergone much mutilation and repair, are no
where more than 7 feet high. Dr. Reeves supposes this to
be the Church of " St. John, of Ransevyn" (a corruption for
Rinn Seimhne (see p. ), which was valued in the

Taxation of Pope Nicholas at 2 marks. About the year
1251 this church was confirmed by Isaac, Bishop of Connor,
to the Priory of Muckamore ; and the Inquisition held at
Antrim, in 1605, found that the Rectory of Whitekirk, in
Island Maghy was appropriate to that Priory. The Holy
Water font of this church was removed to the Chapel of
Larne, whence it was brought by Father Arthur O'Neill to
Ballygowan, where it is still used for its original purpose.
At the distance of 400 yards west of the burial-ground, and
within a few yards of the shore of Larne Lough, great

THE PAEISH OF LARNE. 135

quantities of human bones and the bones of horses have been
found ; the spot is said to be the site of a battle, but no
weapons were found. In the same townland of Ballykeel,
but on the opposite, or eastern coast, are the remains of
a very ancient burial ground. It is situated on the beach
at the base of a precipitous range of cliffs, which rise above
it to an elevation of 260 feet. This grave-yard is not much
above high water mark, and the bones are frequently laid
bare by the encroachments of the waves. The field in which
it is situated is locally known as " Chapel Field." The
foundations of a small edifice were dug up in the burial
ground about 90 years ago. Quantities of silver coins
have been, from time to time, found in this graveyard.
In this townland is shown the site of an old kiln,
in which a farmer, named Hill, concealed some Catholics
during the massacre of 1642. There is a tradition, that a
man named Hill, in the last century, sailed with a vessel,
which he owned, into Westport, and when some of the
people of that place, heard his name and the place from
which he came, they received him with the greatest kindness,
telling him that there was a tradition in their families, that
their ancestors had been saved, during the massacre by a
Protestant named Hill.

The Townland, immediately north of Ballykeel is Gransha
(the Grange); in it, at a short distance from Lame Lough, is
a limestone quarry, which is gradually being worked more
inland. That quarry has destroyed an ancient cemetery
which was located above the rock, where it had a depth of
about 4 feet of soil. The cemetery was of considerable extent j
portions of oaken coflans have been found in it, and about
1820, portions of the walls of a church were removed. In
the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol. VI., there is given

136 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

a description of stone-lined graves, which were discovered in
that cemetery— -the substance of it is this — the heads of the
graves are all westward, they are in regular rows, the lateral
distance between the graves in the same row is almost
constantly four feet, while the feet of the graves, in one row,
are seperated from the heads of the graves, in the next, by an
interval of from three to six feet, each grave was built with
blocks of limestone, laid together in order, and covered on
the top, or as Mr. Wilson, the owner of the quarry,
expressed it — " piped, as we would now pipe a drain." In
some cases the bottom was paved, but in others, the solid
rock formed the bottom of the grave, it was evident that each
grave was built over the corpse, and that no coffin was used.
Several coins were found ; and it was stated that a silver
penny of Edward I. was found in one of the stone-lined
graves.

A cairn, now totally destroyed, occupied a very conspicuous
position, on the confines of the Townlands of Gransha and
Ballymuldrough, it was called Donald's Cairn ; some,
however, say that it was erected over the grave ot a suicide
of that name. In the Townland of Ballymuldrough, there
is a little eminence which commands an extensive prospect
on almost every side. It is called "The Court Knowe," and
by some "The Court Hill," it is said, that on it, the laws in
former times were proclaimed.

The Protestant Church, which stands in the Townland of
Bally harry, was erected in the year 1595, but it is not
certain whether it occupies the site of a more ancient church
or not, there is, however in the same townland, and within
200 yards of the church, a place where an immense quantity
of human bones and skulls was found in a rich, black soil,
such as is usually found in burial grounds. Among the
bones were found many silver coins.

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 137

There was an ancient burial ground and church', in the
Townland of Kilcoan-more, in which the foundation, of a
large edifice, said to have been a monastery, existed within
memory, the site is now a ploughed field ; it is still, however,
called Kirk-Land. In the same townland at the White
House, on the shore of Larne Lough, a vast quantity of
human bones and portions of oak coffins were found in the
year 1836. A hamlet stood on the adjoining farm, where a
number of hearth stones and foundations were dug up about
the same period. In the taxation of Pope Nicholas, " The
Church of Kilkenan was valued at 20/-. Sir Michael of
Kilkenan was summoned, in 1310, to a parliament in
Kilkenny; he joined Bruce, and, in 1320, the Prior of St.
John of Jerusalem, in Ireland, complained to the king of
the great losses which he had sustained from the Scots and
the rebels, and especially through the instrumentality of
Michael of Kilkenan, and John Fitz Nicholas, of Slaine
(Slanes in the ards) ; whereupon the king granted to him and
his successors, two carucates of land in Portmok (Portmuck),
and two carucates in Kilkenan, which had belonged to the
said Michael. In 1380, William Proketour, Yicar of
Antrim, held the Manor of Kilkenan, under William, Bishop
of Connor (see Cat. Cane. Hib. Vol. I.) At the dissolution
of monasteries the rectory was appropriate to the Abbot of
Kells. As the manor belonged to the Bishop of Connor,
and the rectory to the Abbot of Kells, it follows, almost as
a matter of certainty, that this church was founded by a
bishop, and was, in ancient times, a bishop's See. The
tripartite Life of St. Patrick, relating his works in Dalaradia,
says, " He also built a church in the vale of Gleann-
Indeachta (Glynn), and another in Imlech-Cluana, in the
territory of Semne (Island Magee), where the Holy Coeman

138 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

rests." There can be little doubt that the church in Island
Magee, named Kilkenan, is the Church of this Coeman of
the Tripartite. Colgan, in a note on this passage, says,
" Imlech-Cluain is, I think, the church which is now called
Kill-Chluan ; or at least what is called Kill-Choemhain ; but
Kill-Choemhain is in the territory of Hy-tuirtre : and both
are in Dal-aradia, of the Diocese of Connor."

There is a circular mound or tumulus in the townland of
Ballydown. It occupies a low and obscure situation, within
197 yards of Lame Lough. It is 57 feet in diameter at the
base, 14 at the summit, and 16 feet high. This mound
appears to be constructed of earth, but where openings were
made in its sides, it was found to be principal ly composed of
stones. Though it is 6 J furlongs S.S.E. of the Cromleach in
Bally lumford, it appears to have been some way connected
with it, as there was a line of three standing stones between
them, one of which remains within 259 yards of the mound,
and another 173 yards of the Cromleach. A third, which
stood between these two, has been removed within memory.

James I. made a grant to Sir James Hamilton, which he
transferred to Sir Arthur Chichester, of the Grange, or
Chaperly, of Ballydun (Ballydown), in Island Magee, to
which were attached two townlands — Ballydun and Bally-
meninghny, also called Ballyneighane (probably Ballyneev-
eoin — ' the town of St. John), being parcel of the
possessions of the Preceptory of St. John. — (Ulst. Inq.
Oal. Cane. Rib. Vol. II.)

The remains of the Church of Portmuck, now consisting
of a fragment of the east wall, are about 200 yards west of
the ruins of Portmuck Castle. The foundations, with the
exception of a fragment of the gable, were dug out about
1838, and their site cultivated. The church inclined a

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 13£

little from the east and west line towards the north ; its ex-
treme dimensions were about 54 feet by 18 ; the thickness
of the east gable is 3 feet 7 inches. The burial ground was
of unusually large extent, but seemed not to have been
used since a remote period. In the Taxation of Pope
Nicholas, the Kectory of Portmuck was valued at 20/-, and
the Vicarage of the same at 1 mark. The Terrier enters —
" Ecclesia de Portmuc is of the Abbey of Inch — 3 acres of
Glebe, the whole parish is five towns and a half — proxies,
5/-; refections, 5/-; synodals, 2/-." In 1589, the Rectory
of Kincheven alias Portmucke, was leased to the Earl of
Kildare, as an appurtenance of the Abbey of Inch.

The ruins of Portmuck Castle occupy the extremity of a
promontory, which projects a few yards northwards, along
the eastern side of Portmuck Bay, that is formed by a little
recession of the line of coast, which, on the eastern side of
Island Magee, is almost unvaried. The ruins stand in the town-
land of Portmuck ; and immediately opposite to them is the
little Island of Muck, which is separated by a channel of
264 yards, passable only at low water. The promontory
projects 113 yards beyond the southern side of the bay ; its
summit, which is 23 yards broad, is elevated about 70 feet
above the sea. It would seem that the whole promontory
was once occupied by the castle, and even, that the island
was used as a sort of outwork ; it seems to have consisted of
a massive keep of small proportions, being only 20 feet
square, and at present 13 feet high, standing within a sort
of quadrangular ballium, or enclosure, the eastern wall of
which extends 53 yards along the margin of the cliff; the
depth of the ballium is 94 feet ; a wall, extending westward
from the keep, divided it into two irregular portions, the
keep stands within 22 feet of the eastern wall. The

140 DIOCESE OF CONNOK.

description of the castle and little island given by E.. Dobbs,
in 1683, is very correct, even to this day.

" About a mile northward of the Gabbon is Portmuck, a pretty
good harbour for fishing boats and others of 16 and 20 ton, when
the wind blows north or north-west. There is the remains of an old
Irish castle upon the rock above it, in which a sally-port yet appears
next the sea, to the north-east, and opposite to it a little island, to
be waded into at low water, called Portmuck Isle, for here was
formerly rabbits. It has very high, bare, and steep rocks to the north-
east, where many pigeons and other fowl breed, and very strong
tides run by it."

In addition to the remains of mediaeval fortifications on
the little island, there are two circular mounds : one near
the centre of the island resembles a rath, it is 22 feet in
diameter, and encompassed by an earthern parapet, 3 feet
thick, and about 1 foot high. In the parapet several stones
scarcely appearing above the surface, occur at irregular
intervals. The entrance to the enclosure is in the south-west
side, and in the centre of the enclosure there is a circular
swell, which rises to a level with the parapet ; 1 2 feet west
of the entrance there is a large stone, and 93 feet north-west
of it are two others, six feet apart. At the north-western
end of the Island, and near the margin of the cliff, is a
circular mound, 12 feet in diameter, and two feet high,
formed of earth, and having several stones scattered over its
surface, in which they are partially sunk ; one of those on
its summit measures 3 feet 4 inches^ by 2 feet. — See Ord.
Mem. MS.

In the townland of Bally prior-more, is situated a grave-
yard, enclosed by a stone fence and hedge. The foundations
of the church, which were dug out about the year 1830,
stood near the west centre of the grave-yard, where a small
pile of stones marks its site. This seems to be the site of a
church, valued in the taxation of Pope Nicholas, under the

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 141

name of " the Rectory of Bansevyn," at 5 marks, and the
vicarage of the same at 24/8. The Inquisition taken at
Antrim, in 1605, found that the rectory of " Ballyprioragh,
in Insula de Magy," extending to ten townlands, belonged
to the priory of Woodburn. This seems to have been the
principal church on the peninsula, hence, the taxation of
Pope Nicholas terms it the church of Ransevyn.

A very interesting little altar vessel was found, many
years ago, in the ruins of this church ; it fell into the
possession of an old woman in the neighbourhood, who used
it for many years, to hold oil for her spinning wheel, until it
was purchased from her by the late George Benn. Its
workmanship is of great beauty, being not only of graceful
proportions, but as round and smooth as if turned in a lathe.
It is of bronze, two and three-quarter inches in height, and
seven inches in circumference, and has an inscription round
its neck, in beautiful square Irish letters. OR. do. m (ac)
etain. au. brolchain. — "A prayer for MacEtain O'Brol-
chain." The O'Brollaghains were a distinguished family of
Deny and Donegal, which supplied to the church,many emi-
nent ecclesiastics, but the ignorance regarding the glories of the
past, is such, that the O'Brollaghains have changed their
respectable name into Bradley. Illustrations of this
altar vessel, are given in the Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. I,
and Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language, edited by
Miss Stokes. Mr. Benn bestowed the altar vessel, with the
remainder of his collection of Irish antiquities, to the Belfast
Museum, where it is at present preserved.

In 1638, Viscount Chichester, who had previously re-
ceived a grant of the rectorial tithes and advowsons of the
Churches of Island Magee, surrendered the same to the
Crown, and in lieu thereof, was confirmed in the possession of

142 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the rectory and advowson of Shankill, or Belfast ; and, at
the same time, the Deputy was directed to unite the whole
island into one parish.

" The Rocking Stone," described and illustrated in the
Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. II, p. 213, stands near the verge
of a craggy cliff, about 30 feet high, at the base of a smooth
and verdant acclivity along the shore of Brown's Bay.* It is
in the Townland of Dundressan, near Sheenaghan Point, f
The stone is supposed to be about ten or twelve tons weight.
It rests on a rock beneath it, which it touches at two
points, 5 feet 7 inches asunder, its extreme points which are
S.S.E. by N.N.W. are 10 feet apart, and its extreme height
from the ground, is 8 feet 7 inches. The stone can be
rocked by a person from a point at the south-east angle.
" Rocking Stones," supposed to have been so poised for the
performance of some forgotten religious rites, occur in many
countries. There is no legend or tradition regarding this
stone, and its peculiar position is probably to be attributed
to chance more than design.

In the Townland of Ballylumford, stands a Cromleach, of
which an illustration is given in the Dublin Penny Journal,
Vol. I, p, 209. It is situated near the summit of a ridge,
which almost impends over Lame Lough, above which it is
elevated 230 feet. The Cromleach consists of six large

* Brown's Bay was named from a farmer mentioned in B. Dobb's
Description of the County of Antrim in 1683. " The poorest people
burning (instead of turf or coal), much of their straw in the winter
time, yet one James Brown, who lives at the Bay last mentioned
(Brown's Bay), having a good farm here, has near his house excellent
meadow, wherein of late years he has found very good turf, and
under that moss, clay appears again, which being removed, he finds
good turf again."

t The name Sheenaghan seems to preserve the old name for Island
Magee — Seimhne (Shevne).

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 143

stones, standing upright, and forming two rows, about two
feet asunder, extending east and west ; four of the stones are
on the north side, and two on the south, each stone being
from 4 feet to 3 feet 3 inches above the ground. These
support a covering stone, a flat slab upwards of six feet in
length, and nearly two feet thick, but its breadth is unequal,
being at its west end near six feet, and sloping to the east, to
about half that breadth. It inclines a little towards the
west. About 1836, some excavations about it, in search of
treasure, were made to the depth of three or four feet, with-
out making any discoveries except ashes and a few fragments
of bones, but it was found that the pillars were sunk to a
depth of upwards of four feet. There are not any standing
stones about the Cromleach, but it would seem that there
was a line of them between it and a tumulus in Ballydown.
In ploughing the field in which the Cromleach stands, in
1817 "a spiral instrument (a torque) of pure gold, 11 inches
in length, was discovered, and a few years afterwards, several
detached parts of a torque. In March, 1824, several spiral
golden ornaments, of the above form, supposed to be armlets or
bracelets for the arms, were discovered ; the largest weighed
526 grains, a lesser one, 188 grains. They were turned up by
the plough, about three or four feet from the Cromleach." —
See Dublin Penny Journal, Yol. I., p. 209. About 1838,
several richly ornamented urns were dug up in the Townland
of Bally cronan-more, about 300 yards east of the Cromleach,
and within a few yards of the field in which the gold ornaments
were discovered. They contained only dust and very small
fragments of bones. They crumbled away when they were
exposed to the air.

The following description of the Coast of Island Magee,
was written by R. Dobbs, in 1683.

144 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

" The Gabbon is high rocks of grey stone, sixty fathom high ; here
the best Falcon breeds, that Ireland affords, which till last summer,
has not bred for 16 or 17 years. Hereabouts are several caves in the
rocks, one that stolen horses have been kept in till they were tran-
sported to Scotland. . . . About a mile south of the Gabbon
(which I had forgot) is a cave, called * Sir Moses Hill ;' it looks into
the sea, and some part of a lime and stone wall remains in front of
it (a pretty big hill above), which tradition says was built by him
when he fled from Alfrackney, in Broad Island, being an officer there
with Sir John Chichester, Governor of Carrickfergus, when he was
killed by the M'Donnells. Sir Moses, it seems, forcing through the
enemy, or not being able to recover Carrickfergus, swam his horse
over the Corran of Larne and so made his retreat to this cave."

The civil parish of Glynn, in popular estimation, con-
sists of two divisions : the three northern townlands are
considered to be Glynn proper, and the ten southern town-
lands are popularly denominated Magheramorne ; though
that name is now confined to the townland of Ballylig, yet
it was formerly much more extensive. It gave name to a
deanery in the diocese of Connor, and in the commencement
of the 17th century, the tuogh (district) of Maghery-morne
contained the parishes of Inver, Glynn, and Raloo. The
territory had the honour of the birth of St. Comgall, the
founder of Bangor, who, according to the annalist, Tigher-
nach, was born in the year 517. The " Life of St. Comgall "
from the Cod. Kilk, says : —

" The holy bishop, MacCneisi, who now lies in his own city,
named Connyre (Connor), which is in the county of Dalnaraidhe,
prophesied concerning the birth of St. Comgall ; for, when on a
certain day, Setna, the father of the blessed Comgall, and his wife,
Brig, had come, carried in a chariot through a place, where was
the bishop ; he hearing the sound of the chariot, said to his attend-
ants : "See who are in the chariot, for it sounds under a man, in
whom abounds the grace of God.' The attendants, having looked,
said to the bishop : ' Master, the warrior, Setna, and his wife are
borne in the chariot. ' To this the holy bishop replies : ' Truly that
woman has in her womb a son, whose grace will be great in heaven

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 145

and on earth. That same woman, Brig, on the following day, at
sunrise, will bring forth, in the town of Mourne, a most revered son,
whose name will be called Comgall, and he will be great in the sight
of God, and, like the clearest rays of the sun, he will shine in Ire-
land. And she conceived and brought forth, as the holy bishop had
said."

In Irish, the name of the district is written, Mughdorn,
pronounced Mourne. The territory is mentioned under the
form Mag-damorna, in the Tripartite "Life of St. Patrick,"
where it is said — " Many other churches and cells, the man
of God (St. Patrick) founded, in the same region of Dala-
radia ; as Domnachmor (pronounced Donaghmore), in the
territory of Mag-damorna (pron. Magh-damorna) ; and
Rathsithe (Rashee), over which he placed two of his disciples;
as also the church of Tulach, which is also named Kill-Chon-
adhain (pron. KiU-chonyin — perhaps St. Cunning) and
Gluaire (Glore or Tickmacrevan), in the territory of Latharna
(Larne), where rests Mac-Lasius ; he erected also a church
in the valley of Gleann-indeachta." The entry in the copy
of the " Tripartite, " translated by Mr. Hennessy, is : " And
he founded many churches in Dal-Araidhe, viz. : Domhnach-
mor of Magh Damhairne, and Rathsithe, and he left two of
his people there, and Telach-Condain, and Gluaire in
Latharna, and Mac Laisre is in it. He founded Gleann-
indechta."

This Domhnach-mor, or Donaghmor of Magheramorne
cannot be the church of Glynn, the erection of which is also
recorded in the Tripartite Life, " And he built also a church
in the valley of Gleann-indeachta." The church founded in
Gleann-indechta is the church of Glynn, and the name,
Gleann-indechta is fortunately preserved by Ussher, in his
Antiquities of the British Churches, where he says — " That
tract of the County Antrim, which we call Route, was known

146 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

to the Irish by the name of Dal-rieda. It extends (as the
late most noble Randolph, Earl of Antrim, informed me by
letter) from the Bush to the Cross of Glenfinneaght, of which
I find mention made in those ancient Irish verses, bearing
the title of ' Patrick's Testament,' a distance of thirty miles ;
the following old Irish verse being brought forward in
support : —

" 0 Bhuais d'a neirghid ealta, go crois Gleanna Finneachta ;
Ag sin Dal-Riada na reann, giodh be as eolach san f hear ami."

" From the Buaish, from which birds rise, to the Cross of
Glenn Finneachta ;
There is Dal-Riada of the sub-divisions ; whoever he be
who has knowledge in the land."

Though Glynn is a little south of the Lame River, the
boundary of Dalrieda ; the mouth of the river Bush and the
Cioss of Glynn define with tolerable accuracy the territory
which is, perhaps, better expressed as extending " from the
Cutts of Coleraine to the Curran of Larne." The Cross has
long since disappeared, and the name of Finneachta is now
disused. There were many distinguished Irishmen named
Finneachta, but none of them in any way connected
with this district, except, perhaps, Finneachta, monarch
of Ireland, who died Anno Mundi, 3942 ; he belonged
to the Irian race, and his father, Ollamh Fodhla (Ollav
Fola), the great legislator, died in Lecale. As might
be expected from the Tripartite Life, there were in the
present civil parish of Glynn two churches, which were
valued in Taxation of Pope Nicholas, thus : — " The Rector
of Glyne, 5 marks; the Vicarage of the same, 10/-; the
Church of Othewer-town with the Chapel, 4 marks."

Villa-Othewer, as it is entered in the original Latin, is
mow Bally ed ward. The Ordinance Memoir MS., written by

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 147

James Boyle, in 18-40, says, that in the year 1832, an ancient
cemetery was discovered in a field in Ballyedward, and in it
were found the foundations of a small rectangular edifice.
*' The walls were not thick, but they were very hard ; no
further discovery was made here." This was the Church of
Bally Othewer, or perhaps the Chapel mentioned in the
Taxation. In the Terrier is entered, " Ecclesia de Bally-
edward hath ten acres of glebe ; it pays Proxies, 5s. ; Refec-
tions, 5s. ; Synodals, 2s." The entry regarding the church
of Glynn is " Ecclesia de Glin. The Bishop hath 2 town-
lands, one is mensal. Kells hath the parsonage, the Vicar
pays Proxies, 5s. ; Refections, 5s. ; Synodals, 2s." In the
Ulster Visitation Booh, of 1622, the report is " Ecclesia de
Balle-Edward — ruin — the tithes possessed by Sir Moses
Hill, by which right is unknowne ; the Vicarage likewise
possessed by Sir Moyses Hill, his right thereunto is un-
known." The same document reports on the Church of
Glynn. " Ecclesia de Glinne, partly repayred, Rectory
impropriate to the Abbey of Kells, possest by Sir Moses
Hill, Knt. The Vicarage possest by Sir Moyses Hill rated
.£1 6s 8d, by estimacion .£3." From these documents it
appears that the lands of the Church of Glinne belonged to
the Bishop, but its rectory to the Abbot of Kells; an
arrangement which is of frequent occurrence in regard to
the churches in the diocese of Connor, which were once
governed by their own bishops. The Ulster Visitation Book,
referring to the See lands, says, "Item the landes and
mannor of Glynne, let unto Sir Moyses Hill, Knt., reserving
to the Bp. and his successors £6 13s 4d per ann ; it being
worth eight score or nyne score pounds per ann. But the
now Bishop and Sir Moyses Hill have entered into bondes
to stand to the arbitrament of the Rt. Honble. the Lord

148 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Treasurer (Chichester), but his lop. hath made no order
therein as yet, only Sir Moyses Hill is content, and doth
pay in the interim, £lxvi. sterling, per ann., untill the
matter shall be ordered." There seems to have been a great
confusion, regarding the proprietorship of the lands of
Magheramorne, created by the grants of James I. who
granted the tuogh of Magheramourne to Sir James Hamil-
ton, at a rent of 47/6, excepting from the grant the rights
of the Bishop of Connor. Hamilton transferred that grant
to Sir Arthur Chichester, who, on the 22nd of Feb., in the
fourth year of the reign of James I. enfeofed Moses Hill
with this territory at a yearly rent of £20, a house, and a
heriot, reserving four acres of land for the site of a hous&
for fishing, and the grazing of six cows. Hill seems to have
extended his rights, as much as he could ; and these rights,
except such as were sold, have descended to his descendant,
Lord Dungannon. The then proprietor of the See lands of
Glynne, James Agnew Farrell, in an advertisement for their
sale, which appeared in the Northern Whig of April 1st,
1824, describes them as ten townlands, containing, by esti-
mation, 2,154 acres, Irish Plantation Measure, held under a
Bishop's lease. The grant confers all rights of water,
manor courts, and other manorial rights. The Parliamen-
tary Report of 1833, returns " Lord Dungannon as lessee of
the territory or scope of land, called the Glynn, consisting
of eight townlands, paying an annual rent of £96 18s 5Jd,
and a renewal fine of £339 4s 7Jd ; John Irving, Esq.,
Lessee of all the mines, pits, beds, and quarries of lime on
the lands of Ballylig, Ballyedwards, and Drumadreagh, in
the manor of Glynn, paying the annual rent of £58 3s Id,
and a renewal fine of £14 10s 9jd ; J. A. Farrell, Esq.,
lessee of all mines, pits, beds, and quarries of lime upon the

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 149

lands of Glynn, Craignaboy, and Ballylesson, in the manor
of Glynn, paying an annual rent of £9 13s lOd." These
three tenancies were held by the usual renewable Bishop's
leases of 21 years.

The ruins of the ancient Church of Glynn occupy a
picturesque site on the right bank of the Glynn River, at
the distance of 350 yards from Larne Lough. The stream
flows through the glen, along the base of a little eminence,
which rises to about thirty feet above it. The summit is
occupied by the burial-ground. The church, which consists
of a nave and chancel, stands west-by-south and east-by-north.
The nave, 44 feet 6 inches, by 17 feet 5 inches in the clear ;
and the chancel 32 feet 2 inches, by 14 feet 4 inches. The
side walls are 10 feet high, and 2 feet 8 inches broad. The
gables are of similar breadth, and from 21 to 24 feet high ;
the latter seems to have been the original height. The
chancel arch is 10 feet high and 6 feet in the span. The
nave projects beyond the chancel 22 inches on the north
side, and 18 inches on the south side. From the styles of
building, it is evident, that the chancel has been added to the
church, which originally consisted, like the other churches
of the diocese, only of a nave. There were three windows
in the north side of the nave, and one in the south side;
they are at the height of 5 or 6 feet from the ground ; each
is 3J feet high, and 2 feet wide, surmounted by a flat slab,
instead of an arch ; the east window in the chancel is
pointed.

The general cultivation of the land has led to the oblitera-
tion of almost every thing in this civil parish which could
lay claim to antiquity. The only remaining fort is in the
townland of Ballyvernstown. It consists of a circular
platform 5 feet high, 72 feet in diameter, at the base, and

150 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

52 feet at the summit, encompassed by two ditches and two
parapets ; the ditches are each 8 feet wide. The inner
parapet is 14 feet thick at the base, and 6 feet in extreme
height ; the outer parapet is 9 feet thick at the base, 3| feet
high in the inside.

There is an extensive cave in Ballylig, and another exten-
sive one in Newlands ; there is also a cave, but of smaller
extent, in Craignaboy. — See Ord. Mem. MS. Dr. Aquilla
Smith, M.R.I. A., in his Catalogue of Tradesmen 's Tokens
Current in Ireland, published in the " Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy," gives one of John Burnes in Macli-
rimorn, in . . . His Penie, 1672.

The original name of the Larne Water, or River, which
rises in Ballybracken Moss, in the Parish of Ballynure, waa
the Ollar. Dr. Reeves supposes that it was the Ollarba.
The Four Masters, under the year a.d. 106, give an account
of the battle, in which the Monarch of Ireland, Tuthal
Teachtmhar (pronounced Tooal Teactwar), fell, and state
that it was fought at, "in Dal Aradia, at the place whence-
spring the Ollar and Ollarba, and quote an ancient poem,
which says, that it occurred " in the field of the hill of
Glenn-angabhan (pronounced Gowan), which is doubtlessly
the hill above the glen in Ballygowan, near which the Larne
River and the Six Mile Water rise. A passage in an
ancient tale, the Dialogue of the Two Sages, the substance of"
which is given in the Diocese of Down and Connor, Vol. 2.
p. 298, enables us to see that the Ollarbha, is the Six Mile
Water, and, consequently, that the Ollar is the Larne River.*
" He (Neidhe, pronounced Neye), set out from Port Righe

* Even so late as the Down Survey the baronies of Glenarm and
Belfast were divided by the Inver Water, up to Ollarmyno — "the
bog-shrubbery (Muine) of the Ollar."

THE PARISH OF LAKNE. 151

(in Scotland), over the sea, and landed at Kind E-oiss (point
of the promontory, perhaps Kilroot Point); from this he set
out over Seimhne (Island Magee), and over Lathairne
(Larne) ; and over Magh Line (Moylinny) ; and over
Ollarha (the Six Mile Water) ; and over Tulach Ruse
(Tullyrask) ; and over Ard-Sleibhe ; and over Craibh Telca
(Crew Hill)." The Ollarha, which he crossed between the
district around Rathmore and Tullyrusk, was the Six Mile
Water. The Norsmen, from a corruption of the native name
Ollar, named the Harbour of Larne Ulfrek's-fiord, from
which after various mutations it has obtained the mors
modern form Olderfleet. Snoro relates, that in the year
1018, Einar Jarl, son of Sigurd, Earl of the Orkneys, in-
vaded Ireland and encountered Konofoger (Connor 1) King
of Ireland in Ulfreksfirdi, where he was defeated and lost
many of his followers, Johnstone' 's Antiq. Celto-Scandica. a.d,
1210, July 26th, King John being at Carrickfergus granted
to Duncan Fitz-Gilbert and his heirs, the Town of Wul-
frichford, and all the land from Wulfrichford to Grlynarm,
Col. Cane. Hib. Vol. II, p. 354. An inspeximus of that
grant, recites, that these lands were in Wulfrichford.
Inverth (Inver) and Glivarn (Glenarm) — Rot. CI. Hen. 3,
Hardy, R.C. p.402. A.D. 1315, Edward Bruce, of Scotland,
landed on the Curran, of Larne, with a force of about 6,000
men, to wrest Ireland from the English. Archdeacon
Barbour, in his poem written about 1375, says,

*' In Wokingis fyrth arwyt thai."
various other names derived from the native name Ollar,
such as Wolderfrith and Wolverflete, were imposed on the
Larne Lough and Town, until, eventually Olderfleet became
the recognised name for the fortress, which once defended
it. The Curran (the reaping hook), is so named from its

152 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

singular shape, thrust out into the waters of the Lough
The Four Masters record under a.d. 624, " The Battle of
Ard Corainn (was gained) by Connadh Cerr, Lord of Dal-
Eiada, where Fiachma, son of Deman, King of Ulidia, was
slain."

The name Larne, which is now applied to the town, was
formerly applied to a large territory, extending towards, if
it did not include, Glenarm . The Book of Rights, in recording
the tributes to be paid to the King of Ulster, says,

" Entitled is he from the bare Latharna (pron. Lawarna),

No false report —
To two hundred hogs, with crooked tusks,

And two hundred cows. "

In the genealogical MS. of MacFirbis, mention is made
among the families of the Ui-n-Farca-Chein, of " Ceallach,
son of Bledine, King of Latharna."

The Four Masters record, a.m. 2550, "The Plain of
Latharna, in Dalnaruidhe (Dalrieda), was cleared of wood.
A.M. 3522, "Rath-Bacain in Latharna" was erected.
Keating calls this fort Rath-Bachall. Keating from some
ancient records, relates that Hugony the Great, divided
Ireland among his children, and Lathar had his portion in
Latharna. The Book of Lismore contains a very ancient
poem in which Cailte, one of the Fenian Chiefs, mentions
the most celebrated musical instruments in ancient Ireland,
and the names of the musicians who used them ; among
them was " The Fodhord (Fohord), of Fland, from the slopes
of Latham." A.D. 1198, " Aodh O'Niell, sailed with five
ships to Kill ... in Larne, burned a great part of the
town, and killed eighteen of the English." The termination
of the name of the town, is wanting in all the annalists.

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 153

After the English invasion, Larne gave name to a barony.

Several inquisitions find that James 1st, on the 14th of
February, in the 3rd year of his reign, granted to Sir James
Hamilton, the site and precincts of the friary, belonging to
the Friars of the order of St. Augustine, or the Church of
Inver with its appurtenances, the townlands of Care more
(Gardenmore), and Ballegrew-elawy (Ballyloran 1) in the
Tuogh of Larne, and the tithes belonging to them, and the
townlands of Claneduff (Carndufi), Ballyshagge (Ballysnod),
and Drimdode (Browndod), in the Tuogh of Magherimorne,
together with the tithes of these townlands. In the following
year, Hamilton transferred this grant to Sir Arthur
Chichester, for whom it had been taken in trust. The
territory, thus conveyed, constituted the old parish of
Invermore. An inquisition held in 1621, found that the Earl
of Antrim, claimed " Garrimore and Grinilawy," and that
he, or his assigns, had been in possession of them for 16
years before the date of the inquisition.

In the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, the Rectory of " St.
€edma, of Inver," was valued at 41 marks, and its Yicarage
at 20/-. In the margin, Bangore is entered opposite the
valuation of the rectory, indicating that the rectory was
appropriate to the Abbots of Bangor. The Abbey of Bangor
belonged to the Canons Regular of St. Augustine, and the
inquisition found, that Inver belonged to the Friars of St.
Augustine, from which it would seem that some connection
continued between Inver and Bangor, until the suppression of
monasteries, although it does not appear that Bangor had
any possessions in Inver at that period. St. Comgall was a
native of the district of Magheramorne, where, according to
Tighernach, he was born in the year 517. The name of St.
Cedma, in whose honour the Church of Inver was dedicated,

154 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

does not appear in any of the Calendars. The father of St.
Comgall, was named Setna, and there would be no difficulty
in supposing that Setna and Cedma, were only different
forms of the same word, but we have no account that Setna
was honoured as a saint, and the entry in the roll of the
taxation Sandce, Cedmse, indicating that Cedma was a female
saint, however, it must be admitted that there are many
clerical errors in the roll of the Taxation, and such a mistake
might be expected at that part, for the writer had been
after writing Sandai in the proceeding line, and might
easily repeat it instead of Sancti. Moreover he would
think that the name was that of a female, because Latin
names ending in a are generally those of females. It is
therefore not improbable, that the Church of Inver, bore the
name of the father of St. Comgall. The inquisition taken
at Antrim, in 1605, found that " one townland in the townr
or village of Invermore, belongs to the said church as glebe
land." The Terrier enters " Ecclesia de Envermore, hath &
acres glebe, it pays Proxies, 5/-, Refections, 5/-, Synodals,
2/-." The townland, or " 5 acres glebe," cannot now be
traced. The Protestant Church of Lame, is generally sup-
posed to occupy the site of a church that was built for, or
adopted by the Friary, which was in its immediate neighbour-
hood, though the Larne Piver, whose ancient course was
along the present church-yard, on the south and east sides of
it, must have flowed between them. It is locally believed
that the friary was in Chapel-field, which is about forty
perches south-west of the church. There was also a ceme-
tery in Chapel-field. The remains of a funeral mound
stands south of the church, and separated from the church-
yard by the former bed of the river. There seems to be
a cave through the mound, for the old man, in whose garden

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 155

it is, says, that the rats that run in at the north-east of it,
can run out at the south-west of it.

The Taxation of Pope Nicholas values " The Chapel of
St. Mary of Tnver," at 20/. The inquisition held at Antrim,
in 1605, found —

*'The Parish Church of Inverbeg is an entire Rectory, and in the
same is a Rector. The gift of it belongs to the Bishop of Connor, in
right of his bishopric, and the same Rector, in right of his rectory,
receives all the tithes and altarages of the three townlands in that
tuogh (Maghramorne), but the Bishop claims all the tithes of the
same Rectory for his Mensal — by what right the jurors know not."

The Terrier enters " Enverbeg — The bishop's mensal, hath
three townlands, whereof the spiritual belongs to the
bishop." The three Townlands which belonged to the
mensal Parish of Inverbeg, were Anteville, Ballyboley, and
Ballycraigy. Generally speaking, the churches of mensal
parishes in the diocese, were founded by St. Patrick, or some
other bishop, the Tripartite mentions two churches erected
by St. Patrick, in the territory of Larne, " Ecclesia Tulach-
ensis, which is also called Kill-chonadhain, and Gluaire."
The latter may be the Church of Tickmacreevan, which is.
still called the Glore, or it possibly, may be the mensal
Church of Inverbeg. The site of St. Mary's, of Inverbeg,
was in the plot of ground called Inverbeg, which corresponds,
with that part of the present town of Larne, which is called
the Point. Before the river was changed from its natural
course, the Point was on the south side of the river, and
between it and the sea. Human bones have been frequently
found in the upper part of the present Point gardens, and
recently, when the approach to the Ballymena and Larne
Railway Station was being made, a cemetery of stone-lined
graves was cut through, which corresponds with the tradition,
that the Meeting-house between that Railwav Station and

156 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the Protestant Church, stands on, or near, the site of the
ancient church. It is said that a part of this cemetery
extended to the present Post Office.

The name Inver (Inbhear, pronounced Invar, the mouth
of the river), was the old name of Larne, and refers to the
position of the town, at the mouth of the Larne "Water ;
Invermore took its name from a district which was so called,
because, it was a large tract of land, situated at the mouth
of the river, as distinguished from Inverbeg, which meant a
small tract of land similarly situated.

A third church, in the immediate vicinity of those of
Invermore and Inverbeg, is valued in the Taxation of Pope
Nicholas, under the name of " The Church of Dunales," at
2g marks. The name is now Drumaliss, which with the
Curran, forms a townland of 224 acres, in the civil Parish
of Larne. A Post Mortem Inquisition, regarding the pro-
perty, which had belonged to William de Burgo, found that
he held lands in Dunmalys, and the Register of Primate
Dowdal, mentions the Church of Dunmalyn. At the suppres-
sion of monasteries, the Chapel of Downmallis was among the
possession which the Abbot of the Premonstratensian Abbey
of Woodburn was compelled to surrender to the king.

The Terrier enters " Capella de Dunemallis, of Wood-
burne ; it hath but three quarters of land in all — It pays
Proxies, 18d; Refections, 18d; Synodals, 2/-."

An inquisition held September 1st, 1591, found that
" the lands adjoining to, and belonging to the Church of the
Friars, called Clondumalis, containing 15 English acres,
lying near the lands of Olderfleet, on the north, and the
lands of the Town of Larne on the other side, with the tithes
of Olderfleet, Blackcave, and Grillamhill (Greenhills), had
been forfeited to the Crown." It was also found, thnt there

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 157

was attached to the Castle of Olderfleet, three quarters of
land, containing 180 acres. These were demised by the
Queen in the following year, to Moses Hill for 20 years, at
the rent of £1 Gs 8d. These lands, with the Castle and lands
of Olderfleet, as we shall afterwards see, were granted to
James Fullerton, in 1603, probably in trust for Sir Arthur
Chichester, who afterwards obtained them by letters patent.
"Nine old ash trees," says the Rev. Classon Porter, Presby-
terian Minister, in an interesting lecture, delivered in the
M'Garel Town Hall, Larne, November 6th, 1872, " crooked
and weather beaten, standing round in an oblong hollow, in
the corner of a field, on the top of Drumalis, through which
a road has been lately cut, are the only present apparent
indications of a place once sacred, once dear to the heart of
the pilgrim and the saint ; where for ages stood a friary and
a church; and where also was a consecrated buryiug ground,
to receive the ashes of those, who, when living, had knelt in
the adjacent buildings, either as pious worshippers, or as.
holy priests."

The Castle of Olderfleet was built by the English, but
we have no record to tell the date of its erection. It was
considered an important stronghold, to ward off the Scots'.
One of Travers' " devices, for the reformation of Ireland,"
in 1542, was to give Clannaboy to Niall Connallagh
O'Neill, but to reserve Carrickfergus, Olderfleet, and Cole-
raine. In the same year, the Irish Master of the Ordnance,
recommends, that a captain, with a suitable retinue, may be
appointed to Wolvcrfleet, and that he have a galley or
barque, to keep the seas clear of Scots, whom he calls
" redshanks," and whom he describes as being " most vile in
their living, of any nation, except Irishmen." February
18 th, 1551, Lord Deputy Sentleger, writes to the Lord

158 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Protector Somerset, that " John Parker is detained to victual
and order the Forts of Knockfergus and Olderfleet to resist
the Scots of the Out Isles, who mind to make a descent." In
1557, Lord Fytzwauter writes to Queen Mary, giving his
opinion regarding the fortifying of Carlingford, Strangford,
Knockfergus, Olderfleet, the Bann, and Lough Foyle. In
1568, Moses Hill was appointed Governor of Olderfleet.
The Queen considered this castle of such importance, that in
the articles entered into at Dunluce, between Sir John
Perrott and Donneli Gorme MacDonnell, on the 18th of
September, 1586, by which the latter was granted "so much
of the Glynns of Ulster, as were the lands of the Missetts,
otherwise Bissets," it is expressly covenanted, that "the
Castle of Olderfleet, shall be at her Majesty's disposition ;"
and in the same way, when other articles were entered into,
between Sir Arthur Perrott and Angus MacDonnell, in
1686, it is agreed, that all the castles and lands of the
Bissets, shall be conferred on MacDonnell, but that "if it
be found that the Castle of Olderfleet is parcel of the pre-
mises, then the Queen shall have the same." Sir Moses
Hill was the first subject who got a lease, and that only for
20 years, of Olderfleet and the possessions ofjthe Friary of
Drumalis.

At the Battle of Ardfreckeu, in Broadisland, fought on
the 4th of November, 1597, Sir James MacDonnell having
defeated and killed Sir John Chichester, took a great number
of prisoners, one of whom was a Captain Constable, whom
he induced to write a letter to the Earl of Ormond, the Lord
Deputy, from the Castle of Dunluce, in which he stated the
terms on which MacDonnell would release the prisoners ;
one of them was, that the Castle of Olderfleet should be
delivered to MacDonnell. " or else razed and overthrown,

THE PAXISH OF LARNE. 159

which he doth allege to be his inheritance," and Captain
Constable was not ashamed to beg his lordship to understand,
that, this Castle of Olderfleet is of small importance, and
rather a needless charge to her Majesty than otherwise.
M'Donnell, however, took a more direct mode of obtaining
his end ; on the night after the day (Dec. 9th, 1597), on
which Constable wrote the letter, the Castle was sold to
the Scots by two of the warders, Robert Strawbridge, and
John Wright. On that night, Moses Hill, and the constable,
and six warders were in charge of the Castle. The Castle was
recovered again from the MacDonnells, but probably much
injured, for Sir Arthur Chichester writes on the 29th of May,
1600, to Lonl Deputy Mountjoy, that, "he thought fit to
rebuild Olderfleet, and leave some ward there." When James
I. granted, May 28th, 1603, all the territory from the
Cutt of Coleraine to the Curran of Larne, to Sir Randal
MacDonnell, who became afterwards the first Earl of
Antrim, he expressly reserves " the Castle of Olderfleet, with
all its appurtenances." Chichester, however, contrived to
induce the King to grant, in 1603, a temporary lease of the
Castle " now or lately ruinous," and the Friary lands, to
James Fullerton. On the 22nd of January, 1607, the grant
was renewed to Fullerton, who, probably was only an agent
for Chichester, for, not many years afterwards letters patent
were granted to Chichester, who had then become Arthur,
Lord Chichester, Baron of Belfast. The date of this grant
was November 20th, 1621. It confers on Chichester, the
Castle of Olderfleet, and its lands, 180 acres, the Friary lands,
15 acres, the spiritual commodities, whatsoever of the
townlands of Olderfleet, Blackcave, and Grillamhill (Green-
lands), and a ferry from Olderfleet to Island Magee ; all,
-at the yearly rent of XI 6s. 8d.

160 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Portions of the ruined castle still remain, and there are
also traces of earth-works yet remaining on the Curran, these
were constructed in 1640, by an army of Irish, which the
Earl of Strafford had assembled here, in order that it might
be ready to pass over into Scotland, to fight against the dis-
contented Covenanters. In order to give employment to
this army, Strafford sent orders to the Earl of Ormond, who
was in command, to employ them " in building a fort of earth
at Olderfleet, for the better security of his Majesty's ships,
in their winter moorings in that harbour, and for a safe
magazine for their provisions ; and in cutting trenches, and
casting up parapets and bulwarks, to fortify an encampment,
that they might be the readier at these works, upon any
occasions of service." The family of Agnew, obtained
temporary leases of the Curran, but Captain William Agnew
obtained, on May 1st, 1823, from Lord Donega-11, a lease for
lives renewable for ever, " of that parcel of land, called the
Curran of Larne, containing by admeasurement, 125a 22r
30p., plantation measure, or thereabouts," with the rectorial
tithes thereof, and the anchorage of the Lough and Curran of
Larne. This included the site of the Friary of Drumalis.
Mr. Agnew's interest in this lease, has passed by purchase
to James Chaine, Esq., M.P.

In the Taxation of Pope Nicholas " The Church of
Ballycunpan," is valued at 10/-, this is Ballyhampton, a
small grange of 222 acres, which was one of the mensals of
the Bishop of Connor ; it is now incorporated in the civil
parish of Kilwaughter. The Terrier says, u Ballyhumpany is
the Bishop's Mensal, in Spiritual and Temporal, and
is a towne, but is brinked by evil neighbours," we
cannot say who were the evil neighbours who brinked
the Bishop's Mensal, but it with other townlands

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 161

belonging to the See, is returned by the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners, in 1833, as held by the heirs of R. Smith
under the See. This valuable lease was conferred by a
bishop, named Smith, on his son. The townland continued
to pay rent to the Protestant bishop, till the Disestablish-
ment. At the cross-roads, in Ballyhampton, is a field called
the Kirkland, where, at the foot of a sunny slope, is a cluster
of springs of the purest water, forming what is called " the
well-head ;" beside it, pieces of coffins, human bones, and
traces of buildings, were turned up within memory. The
townland of Drumnahoe — " the ridge of the cave," is named
from a cave which is in Drummond's farm, but it is now
closed. The Watch Cairn, in the townland of Ballykeel, is
now a stone quarry. — See Ordn. Mem. MS.

PARISH PRIESTS.

We have seen, that until the death of Father Arthur
O'Neill, the present Parishes of Larne and Carrickfergus
formed one parish ; they were then separated ; Father
O'Loughlin was appointed the first Parish Priest of Larne.
The Rev. Henry O'Loughlin is a native of the townland of
Culcavey, in the vicinity of Hillsborough. After studying
in the Diocesan College, he entered the Logic Class in the
College of Maynooth, in August, 1838 ; he was ordained in
1844, and, shortly afterwards, was appointed Curate of
Belfast, from which he was promoted to the Parish of Larne,
in March, 1852. After the death of Father O'Heggarty,
he accepted the Parish of Ballymoney, in March, 1854.

The present parish priest, Father M'Kenna, succeeded
Father O'Loughlin. The Rev. Francis M'Kenna was born
in the townland of Ballylough, near Castlewcllan, on the
25th of March, 1824. After studying in the Diocesan

162 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

College of Belfast, he entered the Logic Class in the College
of Maynooth, August 30th, 1841. He was ordained in the
College Chapel, on the 29th of May, 1847, by the Most
Rev. Dr. Murray j he was shortly afterwards appointed to
the Curacy of Belfast, from which he was promoted to the
Parish of Lame, on the 13th of March, 1854.*

CHURCH.

During the dark ages of persecution, the few scattered
Catholics of the district, which constitutes the present
Parish of Larne, had no opportunity of hearing Mass nearer
than a glen in the Upper Ballygowan, in the civil parish of
Ballynure, unless at times, when Mass was celebrated in the
cabin of some Catholic. Towards the end of the last century,
Mass was celebrated in the house of Patrick M'Kinty, in
Methodist Lane, and afterwards in a place called " The
Cock Loft" — a loft of a little house at the upper end of Agnew's
Lane, opposite the gate of the present church. The parish
priest, at this period, had within his charge, the Mass Stations
of Carrickfergus, Lame, and Ballygowan ; and, at times, he
also said Mass in Bally clare. In September, 1807, Hugh
Kirker granted to Samuel Campbell, Daniel M'Alister, and
Henry Magee, Trustees for the Catholics of Larne, a house
called Market-Hill House, and two small yards, at the rent of

* The population of the Catholic parish of Larne, in 1881, can be
approximated as follows : — In the civil parish of Island Magee, thers
were 71 Catholics, out of the total population of 2,644 ; in that of
Glynn, 102 Catholics, total population, 1,798 ; in that of Inver, 126
Catholics, total population, 921 ; in that of Larne, 1,148, total popu-
lation, 4,522. In all there were 1,347 Catholics, out of a total
population of 9,885. By adding the Catholic population of the
townlands belonging to the civil parishes of Kilwaughter and
Templecorran, which are in the Catholic parish of Larne, the number
of Catholics in the parish was, in 1881, about ],400.

THE PARISH OF LARNE. 163

6d per annum, held under a lease of two lives. This house,
which was better known under the name olMucket Hill House,
had been an old disused slaughter-house, but it was then
fitted up for a chapel. On the 9th of January, 1813, John
and William Millar, for the sum of £100, assigned their
interest in Market Hill House, to Charles M'Garrell,* John
Havron, and Hemy Magee, Trustees for the Catholics.
This lease having expired, Edmund M'Donnell, Esq., and his
wife, the Countess Catherine, in December, 1828, granted, to
Father O'Neill and his successors, as trustees, 1 rood and 10
perches, for lives, renewable for ever, at the rent of 6d per
annum, " for the purpose of enlarging and rebuilding the
present chapel." What is called " a chapel," is described
in the Northern Whig, as " an old barn (more correctly a
slaughter-house), which the Catholics bought and repaired."
Father O'Neill built on the site a small chapel, which was
consecrated on the 23rd of October, 1831, by Dr. Crolly,
who preached the consecration sermon ; and the collection
amounted to £30. This chapel, being too small for the

* Charles M'Garrell was born at the Hungry Hill, in the civil
parish of Raloo ; he became a successful shoe and brogue maker, and
eventually kept an inn in Larne. In consequence of an altercation
with Friar MacCary, he became, for a time, a Protestant, but was
soon afterwards reconciled to the Church ; his unprincipled example,
however, produced afterwards its natural results among his children.
Father M'Mullan, P.P., Loughinisland, writing in his diary of what
occurred during Dr. M'Mullan' s visitation of the diocese in 1822,
says — "We breakfasted at Mr. M'Garrell's ; we met there his two
sons— fine young men — they have gained a fortune in Demerara, but
lost their faith. " The elder of these two sons died unmarried, and
the younger, Charles M'Garrell, bestowed to Larne the M'Garrell-
Town-Hall and the M 'Garrell-Cemetery, and, dying childless, he
bequeathed the estate at Glynn, which he had purchased from John
Irving, Esq., to his wife's brother, Sir James Hogg, afterwards
called Sir James M'Garrell Hogg.

164 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

requirements of the parish, was re-erected and formed into
the present church,* by Father M'Kenna. It was dedicated
under the invocation of St. Macnisius, by Dr. Denvir, on
the 17th of July, 1859, when the opening sermon was
preached by the Rev. Charles M/Auley, D.D., Professor in
the College of Maynooth.

* The old holy- water font of the ancient church of Portmuck is
lying at the east end of Larne Church.

The Crannoge at Lough Mourne (see p. 79) is entered on Speed's
Map, published in 1610.

The drinking cup, or ladle, described at p. 76, is the property of
Mr. John Hamilton, and is at present deposited in the M'Garrell
Hall, Larne ; he has two other similar cups. Mr. Hamilton has a
flat basin of stone, 65 inches in diameter, and 1^ inches deep, found
at Mutton Burn (see p. 93) ; he has two other similar dishes, but
smaller.

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE.

THE district, which constitutes the recently formed Parish
of Ballyclare, consists of the civil parishes of Raloo,
Ballynure, Ballylinney, Ballycor, Glenwhirry, Rashee, Kil-
bride, and Doagh. It also includes the civil parish of Kil-
waughter, except Bally hampton, Ballykeel, Drumnahoe, and
Glebe, which belong to Larne ; and Capanagh, Mullagh-
sandal, and Skeagh, which belong to the Parish of Glen-
arm ; portions of the civil parishes of Ballymartin and
Templepatrick ; the town of Parkgate belonging to the
Grange of Nilteen ; and the townlands of Ballyclaverty,
Ballygowan, Browndod, Dunamuggy, Ferguson's Land,
Freemanstown and Halftown belonging to the civil parish
of Donegore.

The Church of Kilwaughter (Cill-uachtair, " upper church")
is valued in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, under the name
of '* the Church of Killochre," at 5 marks. The Terrier
enters : " Ecclesia de Killoghter. — It has half a plowland in
Glebe, it pays, Proxies, 8s. : Refections, 8s. ; Synodals, 2s.'
The Visitation Book of 1622, reports: "Ecclesia de Kill-
woghter, decayed." The Parliamentary Commissioners, in
1657, report, regarding the parish : " It is bounded on the
east, by the Parish of Inver (Larne) ; on the south, by the
river of Inver (Larne Water) ; on the west, by the mearings
between the baronies of Antrim and Glenarm ; and on the
north, by the Parish of Killyglen. It extends a mile and
a, half in length, and in breadth, a mile. No glebe belonging

166 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

thereto, neither is there any church." The church yard
measuring 35 yards by 25, is densely crowded with graves
and grave-stones. It is still used, though enclosed in Kil-
waughter demesne, and close by the out-offices of the Castle.
The old church stood in a corner of the graveyard j its site
is indicated by a hollow in the ground, within which the
Catholics were formerly in the habit of interring their dead.
Here was interred the Rev. Thomas Cassidy, P.P., of Larne
and Carrickfergus ; he resided at Mackeystown, near
Craiganorne. There is a small spring well, of a triangular
shape, in the townland of Lowtown, a few perches to the
left of the road leading from the Castle to the Park.
Rags may still be seen tied on the bush overhanging the
well, and pins are thrown into it. Richard Dobbs,
writing in 1683, says: "On the south-west of this house
(that of Patrick Agnews, Kilwaughter), above an English
mile from it, near the highway leading from hence
to Antrim, there appears among some small hazle shrubs,
a pretty brisk spring, much drank by the ordinary
people hereabouts. I have been told that this well-water
will bubble and make a little murmuring noise, if the party
for whom it is brought will recover — otherwise it will be
smooth and still." The Ordnance Survey Papers say,
" There is a tradition, that any person coming to it, either
to perform stations or otherwise — if the water of the well
does not boil while they are there, it is not considered a good
omen, as some of the family will die before that day twelve
months ; even Presbyterians believe this, but the practice is
greatly abolished."

There is a tumulus near the site of the ancient church,
such as frequently is to be found near old churches. Its
diameter at the base, is 50 feet, and at the top, €6 feet, and

THE .PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 167

its height, from the bottom of the trench, is 12 feet; the
trench is 12 feet wide; the parapet appears to have been
about 5 feet high. The sides of this mound are planted with
trees, and its parapet with thorns, so as to form a fence ; it
is in the townland of Drumnadonaghy. There is an earthen
rath on a bank, north of Mill-brook ; its diameter at the
base is 150 feet, and at the top, 138 feet; it is 7 feet high ; a
parapet about 2 feet high runs round its top ; the trench
is about 7 feet wide, but the outer parapet has been re-
moved. In Lowtown, about 50 yards west of the Larne and
Ballymena road, there is a rath of earth and stones, nearly
circular, being 120 by 108 feet in diameter at the top, and
30 feet wider at the base ; it is 10 feet high and surrounded
by a trench, 12 feet wide ; the parapet was 4 feet high, but
it is partly dug away. This rath had a cave in it, but very
little of it exists now. Rory's Glen, according to tradition,
is named from Rory Oge M'Quillan. There is a rath of
earth and stones, on the edge of the precipice which bounds
the glen at the limestone quarry. It is 30 feet in diameter
at the top, 38 at the base, and about 9 feet high, having a
trench round it 8 feet wide, and 8 feet deeper than the level
of the field in which it is. There is a rath of earth in
Hightown, about 200 perches north of the Park wall ; it
is only about 2^, or 3 feet, above the level of the field, and
about 63 feet in diameter, having neither trench nor para-
pet. There was formerly an artificial cave in this rath, but
it has been dug away ; and about 50 perches south of it
there was another artificial cave, which has also been
demolished. In Ballyedward, about 100 perches west of
the Larne and Ballymena road, there was a rath, but there
now remains only a part of the western side of the parapet.
See Ordnance Memoir MS.

168 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

The Church of Eathlung (now Raloo) is valued in the
Taxation of Pope Nicholas at 6 marks, which was a valuation
much higher than that placed on any of the churches in the
vicinity. In the Terrier is entered — " Ecclesia de Raloo
hath a quarterland glebe ; it pays Proxies, 5s ; Synodals, 5s ;
Refections, 2s." The Visitation Book of 1622, reports —
" Ecclesia de "Ralow, decayed. Noe cure nor able to mayn-
teyne any, the people resort to the next church." This state
of things continued until comparatively recent times ; there
was no place of religious worship in the civil parish until
the Catholics erected the Chapel of Ballygowan, in 1788.
The present Protestant church was built by the Church
Extension Society about forty years ago. The ancient
burial-ground of Raloo, containing a fragment of the east
gable of its church, is situated in the townland of Tureagh,
near the base of a steep declivity which forms the southern
side of a deep and comparatively fertile valley. A remark-
ably crooked and steep road, seldom exceeding eight feet,
pursues its tortuous direction past the burial-ground from
the village of Glenoe, where it branched off from an ancient
paved road that led through that village from Belfast^ or
Carrickfergus, to Glenarm. The fragment of the gable,
which remains, is 6 feet high and 9 feet long ; it is 3 feet 2
inches thick, and built in courses of 18 inches of undressed
and rather small field or water-worn stones.

On leaving the townland of Ballygowan, in the parish of
Bally nure, we cross a little stream, which runs through the
glen and we enter Ballygowan, in the Parish of Raloo.
That glen, between the two Ballygowans, is the Gleann-an-
Gabhain, where the great battle was fought in which fell
King Tuathal Teachtmar. Both the townlands of Bally-
gowan are rilled with ancient monuments, which testify,

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 169

after so many centuries, that some great event occurred in
their fields. Here we will only speak of Ballygowan in the
Parish of Raloo. In that townland are the remains of seve-
ral stone monuments, commonly called Druids' Altars. Of
the north-western of these, M'Skiniin, writing in the Dublin
Penny Journal, says : " In the Parish of Raloo are sixteen
large stones, standing closely together, called, in the Scottish
idiom of the neighbourhood, ' Ceanorth's Wa's.' " They are
situated on a swelling eminence ; and from several stones of
a similar size lying about, and others removed within
memory to the adjoining fences, it is evident that formerly
a considerably greater number stood here, than at present ;
and from an examination of their probable number, it is
certain there could not have been less than thirty. The
greatest height of those remaining is about 4| feet from the
ground ; and on these rested a stone about 6 feet in length,
by 4J in breadth, which many years ago was cast from its
level position by the lovers of destruction and mischief." It
seems to have consisted of a slab resting on two upright
stones, and to have been surrounded by several concentric
circles. The slab is 4 feet 3 inches by 4 feet, and 17 inches
thick. Judging from the position that the stones at present
occupy, it would seem that, from the concentric circles, an
avenue extended north-easterly from the tabular stone.
From information supplied to the officers of the Ordnance
Survey, by the farmer, it would seem, that two circles, of
which the tabular stone was the common centre, encompassed
it. The diameter of the inner circle was 80 feet, and that
of the outer, 130, but, according to tradition, other circles
encompassed these, and the radius of the outmost circle was
1 20 yards from the Cromleach. About the year 1 828, a man,
when engaged sinking a gate-post, on the northern side of

170 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the Cromleach, discovered, at the depth of 18 inches from the
surface, a compact pavement, beneath which he found red
clay and peat to the depth of a foot ; when he found a lower
pavement, beneath which was " a wheel-barrowful " of
whitish ashes mixed with bones and blackish earth. There
are numerous caves in the vicinity of the monument, but
none of them are open. According to some, Ceanorth was
a Scottish chief, but M'Skimin, in the Dublin Penny Journal,
twists the name, which is probably only lately imposed on
the structure, into Cean Grioth, which he translates " head
of the sun." The second monument in Ballygowan is very
similar to the one just described, and is situated 1,100 yards
south-east of it ; it too has received similar injuries. It is
said that the number of stones removed exceeded those which
remain ; many of them were removed to make way for a lane
which crosses the site. In digging about the site nothing was
discovered except decayed bones. Between the two monu-
ments can be traced, with some difficulty but satisfactorily,
a stone circle. It is distant from the north-west monument
506 yards, and from the south-east monument 594 yards.
Its centre occupies the summit of a little swell ; its diameter
is 760 feet ; only about the third of its circumference can
now be traced. The stones appear at intervals, of from 6
to 56 feet, and never rise above the ground more than two
inches. At its centre are the remains of a small mound 132
feet in diameter. It is not now more than a foot high ; a
row of seven stones are to be traced around it, at about 12
feet from its exterior. They are large, but appear only a
few inches above the ground. From the centre of this
mound a row of stones extends in a right line eastward to
the circumference of the circle ; of these only 8 remain, and
only a small part of each rises above the ground. In this

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 171

townland a beautiful oval shaped hill is called " the entrench-
ment," from the remains of an encampment, which may be
traced along its eastern and northern declivities ; and more
earthen embankments are still discernible along its northern
and southern slopes. Several stone hatchets, flint arrow-
heads, some human bones, and portions of querns have been
found in cultivating it. See Ordnance Memoir MS. The
importance of Ballygowan continued even in Christian
times; in the year 1837 a large quantity of human bones
and fragments of massive oak coffins were discovered
in a plot of rich ground about 20 yards square. Near
the centre of this, the foundations of a small building,
which had stood due east and west, were also dis-
covered. In the adjoining townland of Ballyrickardmore,
and within 880 yards north-east of the sunken circle
of stones, occurs a similar circle. It occupies the summit of
a little knoll near the right bank of the Larne River ; its
diameter is 150 feet. It consisted of a number of large
stones, the most of which have been removed or sunk, while
the remainder do not appear more than a few inches above
the ground. In many cases the stones are equidistant, and
perhaps all have been so. At the centre of the circle is a
standing stone 2 feet 9 inches high, and 21 by 13 inches
thick. The remains of a large concentric circle may be
traced around this circle at a distance of 90 feet from its
circumference ; its diameter has been 340 feet. Only nine
of the stones appear above the surface ; and they can with
difficulty be traced, as they lie so deeply sunk. Many of
them are equidistant, being 20 feet from each other. Those
that remain describe about two-thirds of a semicircle. These
circles have not been observed, even by those who cultivated
the fields, nor have any remains been found about them. In

172 DIOCESE OF CONNOK.

this townland a strong fort occupies the summit of a basaltic
hummock, elevated about 40 feet above the adjacent ground.
The fort has suffered much ; nearly the entire of its two
ramparts and the parapet, which encircled its platform, have
been demolished. The platform is 89 feet in diameter at
the summit, and 110 feet at the base; its elevation was
from 8 to 11 feet. Its surface seems once to have been
cased with large undressed quarry stones, closely laid and
well bedded without cement. The most of these have been
removed, but many of them yet remain, particularly on the
north side. The facing has evidently been carried above the
level of the platform. A cave, or gallery, extended along
the north side, and a branch of it extends to the centre of
the platform. The width of this cave is 3 feet 2 inches at
the base, and 2 feet 5 inches at the top ; its height is 6 feet ;
the walls are built of small angular quarry stones, none of
which exceed 13 inches in length ; the roof is covered with
large water-worn flags. The inner ditch is 13 feet wide, and
the outer, 22 feet; only portions of the ramparts remain;
they seem to have been composed principally of stones. In
Ballyrickard-Beg, 462 yards N.E. of " Ceanorth's Wa'-as," a
large slab, about 3| feet square, and 20 inches thick, rests
on two other stones ; it seems to be a disturbed Cromleach.
Between the townlands of Ballyrickard-Mor and Altilevally
stands the Dun of Dunisland, which, as the name indicates —
the fort of the island — was, at no distant day, an island
surrounded by the adjacent bog. It is 25 feet in height,
162 feet in diameter at the base, and 56 at the summit; it
was encompassed by a ditch 23 feet wide, then by a rampart
23 feet broad, and in its present state, 6 feet high ; beyond
this, a second ditchj 36 feet wide — outside of which was a
rampart, 36 feet broad, and, at present, 7 feet high.

PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 173

Altilevally — the mountain of the road — is the name of a
townland through which passed the great roRd leading from
Carrickfergus to Glenarm. About 150 years ago, the part
of it towards Glenarm was superseded by a new line ;
portions of it running through the Parishes of Carncastle
and Tickmacrevan pass over great elevations, running in a
straight line over mountains and valleys. — See Ord. Mem. MS.

Near the centre of the Parish is a conspicuous eminence,
called Crossmary — called so, no doubt, from a cross which
once stood there. The hill is traversed by the boundaries
of the townland of Altilevally and Tureagh. It is stated
that the proper name is Cross Mac Rory.

Mountbill, 3| miles S.W. of Lame, was the scene of a
battle between the English and Bruce. Within memory,
three large Standing Stones stood near it, at a little distance
from each other ; they were called " Bruce's Stones." The
mound from which the hill is named was called " Bruce's
Cairn;" it stood on an adjacent field until the year 1835,
when it was demolished. Though stated to have been erected
over one of Bruce's generals, it was no doubt of pagan origin.
About 120 years ago, a grave, constructed of large flag-stones,
and containing ashes and bones, was found near its base.

The townland of Carnneal is called from a mound in it,
which occupies a low situation near the base of a consider-
able eminence. Its present height is only 6 or 7 feet, its
diameter at the summit, 27 feet, and at its base, 44. The
top is occupied by an aged thorn, supposed to be " very
gentle." Artificial caves are numerous throughout the civil
parish of Raloo. There were formerly in this civil parish
many earthen raths which have been destroyed, some within
memory, because they were supposed to have interfered with
operations of the farmers.

174 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

The lands of this parish were conferred by a grant of
James L, and were included in the grant of Magheramorne,
to James Hamilton, which was transferred to Sir Arthur
Chichester, who leased the most of it to Sir Moses Hill, in
whose descendants they still remain.

The Church of Ballynure — Baile-an-Iubhair — "the town of
the yew tree," is valued, in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas at
13 marks. The Terrier enters : " Ecclesia de Ballynure ; it
had two townlands glebe, and now but one, and there is
30 acres of St. John's. The prebend of Kilroot has it. It
pays — Proxies, 10s. ; Refections, 10s. ; Synodals, 2s." The
Visitation Book of 1622, enters : " Ecclesia de Ballynure,
decayed." The Registry of Muckamore recites a grant made
by Robert de Sandal to Muckamore of a Carucate of land in
" tento de Ywes ;" whether or not the church was impropriate
to Muckamore, the entry in the Terrier shows that the
Hospitallers were possessed of property within the parish.
The town of Ballynure stands on the townlands of Dun-
turkey and Tubberdowny, in the latter of which is the
ancient graveyard, with the ruins of a former Protestant
church, that occcupy the site of the original church. The
church appears to have been surrounded by a circular
earthen entrenchment, and the branches of an artificial cave
run under the graveyard. The townland of Tubberdowney
is named from a remarkable well, about which Richard
Dobbs, in his Description of the County of Antrim, written
in 1683. says —

" In Ballynure (which is a small estate belonging to myself, and
held by the Crown since the time of Queen Elizabeth) is a well,
called Toberdoney — i. e. Sunday-well — (within a quarter of a mile of
the house lately built there by me), which, in former times, was
very much frequented for sickness aud distempers by the Irish, and
still is some on May-eve, Midsummer-eve, and Christmas. It is a

PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 175

plentiful running spring, and commended by all persons for excellent
water, in which (it has been observed many years) is constantly a
trout, not like ordinary trouts in the country : sometimes it appears
inclining to green, sometimes to black, has no spots, and in shape is
very Like a tench. At this time there are two in it : one near a foot
long, the other not above three inches ; they never go out of the
well, unless accidentally, and return again, tho' a river, plentiful of
trout, hard by. Some twelve years since, a young fellow caught
and carried away one of these trouts, and died within two or three
days after."

In an interesting paper, read, October 16th, 1880, before
the Royal Historical Association of Ireland, Mr. Wakeman
collected many instances of a belief existing among the Irish,
that certain fishes were supernaturally preserved in many of
the wells of Ireland ; — two trouts in Tober-Kieran, near
Kells ; two trouts in the " Pigeon Hole," near Cong ; two
trouts in Tubber Tullaghan, in the County of Sli»o ; a
salmon and an eel in Tubber-Monaghan, in the parish of
Dingle. Mr. Wakeman might have given many other
instances of this curious belief, which is common among the
Celtic and Eastern nations. The well of Tubberdowny still
exists, but its trouts are gone, and it is now only valued for
its excellent water. It was formerly called the Pin-well,
from the custom of persons dropping pins into it after they
drew water from it.

The territory, or Cynament, of Ballynure, which cor-
responded with the present civil parish of Ballynure, was
conferred by Shane Mac Brian O'Neill, along with the tuogh
of Braden Island, on John Dallaway (see p. 88). He
obtained a Crown grant, dated 10th April, 1606, for the
lands which he held. Liberty was also granted to him to
hold a market each Friday, and a fair each year, at Thomas-
town (Straid). When Dalway leased off the lands of Braden
Island to William Edmonston, he was required, among other

176 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

things, to draw slates and timber for a castle, which Dal way
was about to build, near Ballynure (Castletown). By the-
award, in 1625, which terminated the suit between the
families of Dal way and Dobbs (see p. 90), the Cynament of
Ballynure became the property of Hercules Dobbs, son of
Margaret Dalway.

The following is the substance of the Ordnance Memoir
of the Civil Parish of Ballynure, written by Thomas Fagan,
in 1839 : — There is in the townland of Straid,* and in tho
farm of John Wetherup, an oval rath, or fort, and a cave.
In bogs of that townland were found, bog butter, wooden
vessels, and other objects of antiquity. Here were found
the three bronze trumpets, drawings cf which are given in
Walker's Irish Bards, published in 1780. About a quarter
of a mile distant from Straid village are the remains of a
" Giant's grave." About a mile south of the village of Straid
are Irish Hill and Scotch Hill, so named from camps occu-
pied by the Irish and Scotch forces during the war of 1641.
On Straid Hill were formerly held the cattle fairs which are
now held in Ballynure. Another oval rath is in the farm
of William Madole ; to east and south of it are large stones,
supposed to be for monumental purposes.

In Dunturkey, in John Forsyth's farm, are the ruins of a

* Near Straid is a place anciently called Agliasolas— " the ford of
light." — (See p. 7). Some person, who knew a little of the Irish
language, supposed that the latter portion of the word was Salach —
" dirty, or foul," and translated the name, Foul-Ford. The officials
of the Ordnance Survey were informed by Joseph Robinson, James
Todd, and other local parties, that the ford was so named from the
number of persons who were drowned in it. The Ordnance officials,
however, pursued an independent course, and named it on their m^p,
Fool Ford. They have entered the rath of Lisnalinchy, or, properly,
Lislinchy (see p. 181), in the adjoining parish of Bailylinny, under
the classic form of Silentia Fort !

THE PABISH OF BALL YCL ARE. 177

rath, beside which there is an artificial cave. In the same
townland, in the farm of David Kennedy, are the ruins of
another rath, 32 yards in diameter, in the trench of which
were discovered above a dozen of oaken staves, roughly
dressed, a part of the ancient stockade ; there was a cave on
the east side of it. There was also a rath in Dunturkey, in
the farm of John MartiD, and another in that of Samuel
Kennedy, to which there was attached a cave, but all are
now destroyed.

In John Kirk's farm in Legaloy, are the ruins of a rath,
38 yards in diameter, under which was a cave, and on the
same farm are other caves. In Castletown, in the farm of
William Adair, are the ruins of an oval rath, 50 by 40
yards, with, considerable outworks, which seems to have
been a place of great strength. The townland takes its
name from the castle, built by the Dobbs family, but little
now remains of it. Near it stands an old bridge, said to
have been erected in 1590.

The bridge was for an old line of road, which led to
Carrickfergus ; parts of this road, paved with large and
small stones, are still extant ; it seems to have been about
nine feet wide. Near the ruins of the Castle are the remains
of an earthen mound. On an elevated site, in the same
townland there is a Standing Stone 7 feet high. It is
said there was a Cromleach, on the Fair Hill, in the same
townland, but it has long since been destroyed. The fairs
granted in John Dalway's patent, were held on this hill, but
they have been removed to Ballynure since about 1790.
The hill was used by the United Irishmen as their drilling
ground.

There are the remains of a rath in Bryantang, in the farm
of James Boyd. In Ballynarry, within 30 yards of the

H

178 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

boundary of the Corporation of Carrickfergus, is a Standing
Stone, about 7 feet high, which occupies a very commanding
position. In Little Bally mena, in William Stewart's farm,
there was a fort, and adjoining it there was a cave. There
is also in the same townland, in William A. Wylie's farm,
a large oval rath, which had an oblong platform of earth-
work, and a cave. In Ballybrackin there was a rath and
cave, in the farm of Samuel Robinson ; there was another
rath, having a cave, in the farm of Robert Wright. A large
cave is in the farm of Francis Devanny, and another near a
bog, in the farm of James Donaldson. In Skilganaban there
was a rath, in the farm of James Woodside, but it has long
since been destroyed. Another rath long since destroyed,
was in Ballynarry, in William Curran's farm. A rath of
large size, also long since destroyed, stood in Ballygowan, in
the farm of William Knox. A furlong east of it there is,
in the farm of Patrick M'Cullough, an ancient Standing
Stone; and about 15 yards N.E. of it, stood, it is said, a
Cromleach ; and at the distance of about two furlongs vest
of these there is a Standing Stone, in the farm of Mathew
Johnston. Stone hatchets and flint arrow-heads have been
found in great quantities in this townland. In Ballylagan
are the remains of a large rath, in the farm of Henry
Lennan. In Ballyclare there are also the remains of a
large rath, in the farm of James Simpson. John Fullerton
has a piece of horn, about the size of a crown piece, which
was found in 1834, in a bog on the borders of the parish.
On it is the head of Pope Alexander VII., around which is
inscribed Alexan. VII., Pont. Max. In the same bog were
found, in 1830, above forty amber beads, each from one to
four inches in circumference; some of them weie oval, and
others of an oblong shape ; they were given to John Park,

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 179

Esq., of Bally mire, in whose family they are supposed still
to be.

" Ecclesia de Lynne." — The Church of Lynne, now Bally -
linny, is valued in the roll of the Pope Nicholas Taxation,
at 9 marks. The rectory of this church was one of the
impropriations of the Abbey of Woodburn. The Terrier
enters " Ecclesia de Bally-na-linny — it has one town and a
quarter glebe — Proxies, 5/- ; Synodals, 5/- ; Refections, 2/-.
My Lord Deputy Chichester hath it from Woodburn." An
inquisition, held at Joymount, in Carrickfergus, 19th James I.
found that that parish extended over the townlands of Bally-
linny, Ballihoane, Lisselinchy, two townlands of Carntall,
and two townlands of Bruslee. The Visitation Book of 1 622,
reports " Ecclesia de Ballylinny decayed," and adds "Rec-
tory belongeth to the Abbey of Woodburn, and is possest by
the Lord Threasurer (Chichester)." The grave-yard is an
area of 186 teet by 198 well enclosed; the oldest inscription
is 1750. The foundations of the church stand in the centre
of the grave-yard, but scarcely appear above the ground,
they are S.E. and N.W. and are 60 feet in length, and 28
feet wide ; the walls are three feet thick. There was for-
merly a rath or mound in the field below the church, which
was removed by the present farmer. At a short distance, a
rivulet which is one of the tributaries of the Six-Mile- Water,
runs over a rocky channel and makes a small cascade, hence
the name of the townland — Ballylinny — "the town of the
waterfall." Linn according to Joyce u signifies a pond or
pool, water, the sea, and it occurs in local names, but only
as meaning a pool or pond. The English speaking people
of Scotland retain the word to the present day, but apply it
to a waterfall : —

" Whyles oure the linn the burnie plays."

180 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

" Let me in for loud the linn

Is roarin o'er the warlock craggie. "

In the present instance it is obvious, that the Ulster
Irish in very ancient times applied the same meaning to the
word. Mr, Gregg, of Bally ruenock,* near Holy wood, is

* This was one of the townlands, which an ancestor of Mr. Gregg
acquired in the last century, and on which he raised the rents
excessively, and thereby so far excited the inhabitants as to call into
existence the "Hearts of Steel." The seizure of David Douglas,
charged with maiming Mr. Gregg's cattle, was the cause of the
insurrection. To what has already been said on that subject
(see Doivn and Connor, Vol. ii. p. 38), may be added the following
extracts, from letters preserved in the State Paper Office, London :--

" St. James, April 6th, 1772.

" Rochford to Townsend.
" It has given the King great pleasure to hear, that the disturbance?
in the North of Ireland are likely to be quelled without danger or
further effusion of blood ; but his Majesty's humanity, was, at the
same time, greatly effected by hearing your Excellency's opinion,
that they owe their rise to private oppression, and that the over-
greediness and harshness of landlords may be a means of depriving
the kingdom of a number of his Majesty's most industrious and
valuable subjects. The King does not doubt, but that your Excel-
lency will endeavour, by every means in your power, to convince
persons of property of their infatuation in this respect, and to instil
into them, principles of equity and moderation, which, it is to be
feared, can only apply an effectual remedy to the evil."
"April 10th, 1872.

" Captain Erskine to Mr. Lee.
* ' A few facts, which all the country acknowledges the truth of, will
show how much foundation there is for their complaints. Lord
Donegall, upon his leases falling in, wanted to raise upwards of
£100,000, by way of gorsham, which the farmers not being able to
raise, two or three merchants of Belfast were preferred to them,
though they offered more than the interest of that money, besides
the rent. By this one stroke a whole country-side were driven from
their habitations. What must become of them ? They must either
go to America, or take the lands at any rate that the Belfast
merchants choose them let it at. "

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 181

landlord of Ballylinny. There is a tradition that a town
once extended from the church of Ballylinny to that of
Ballywalter, a distance of one mile and five furlongs.
Foundations of brick and stone walls cemented with lime
enclosing rooms, paved hearths, wood ashes, half burned
corn, and numerous querns have been found through the
whole extent of Ballyhowne, the intervening townland ; but
these are scarcely sufficient to prop up the popular tradition.
In that townland there exist very numerous caves, which
have given name to it — " the town of the caves ; " these are
vsupposed to be in some way connected with the ancient town.
Caves are numerous in many parts of the civil parish,
particularly in the light and dry soil along the northern
districts of the parish ; upwards of twenty, according to the
Ordnance Memoir MS., are said to have been, within
memory, whole or partially demolished, or their entrances
so covered, that all traces of them have long since been for-
gotten. The townland of Lisnalinchy, with its old forts or
Lises, still preserves the memory of the ancient chiefs of
Dalaradia, the O'Loingsighs, whose descendants are to be
found sparsly scattered through Down and Antrim under
the name of Lynchy, or driven into Deny and Donegal,
where they have assumed the name of Lynch and Mac-
Linchy. This large townland contains two forts ; that
known by the name of Lisnalinchy Fort occupies a con-
spicuous position on the summit of a gentle eminence. It
is 212 feet in diameter at the base, and from 20 to 24 feet
in height, from the bottom of the ditch, to the top of the
parapet, which encircles its summit. This parapet is 7 feet
high in the inside, and 8 feet broad at the top. The fort
within the parapet is 128 feet; the ditch is 17 feet wide,
beyond which are the remains of a parapet from 6 to 9 feet

182 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

high in the inside. The entrance, which is 12 feet wide, is.
at the sonth-west side. A little spring oozes from the body
of the fort, near the entrance. No artificial cave has been
discovered in or about the fort. The second fort is half a
mile N.W. of the former. It also is circular; 143 feet in
diameter at the base ; 7 to 10 feet high : the parapet is 3 to
5 feet high, and 12 feet broad; and the diameter of the
space within the parapet is 97 feet. It is encompassed
by a shallow ditch 1 6 feet wide, around the margin of which
are the traces of a parapet ; and at the distance of 36 feet
from the ditch lare to be seen the remains of another parapet.
The entrance is at its southern side. An artificial cave can
be traced, by the occasional appearance of the covering
stones extending across the fort. Above the cave, and 40
feet from the south side of the fort, stands a rude stone, 3
feet 2 inches high. At the distance of 38 feet to the east of
this fort are the remains of a quadrangular fortification, 92
feet by 78 feet, consisting of an earthen parapet, 2 to 5 feet
high, and from 5 to 8 feet broad. Ballylinny gave name to
a Tuogli, which extended over the civil parishes of Temple-
patrick, Ballylinny, and Ballymartin. This territory was
granted by James I., July 20th, in the third year of his
reign, to James Hamilton, at the annual rent of 63/6, re-
serving, however, from the grant all glebe and episcopal
lands. This valuable grant was transferred by a deed, dated
in the following April^ to Sir Arthur Chichester, for whom
Hamilton had taken the grant.

The Grange of Bally waiter, now united to the civil parish
of Bally linney, contains 320 acres. The Taxation of Pope
Nicholas enters : — '' The rector of Walter de Logan's-town —
the Hospitallers are rectors/' and because the rectory was
vested in that Order, it was exempt from the taxation, but

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 183

the vicarage was valued at 40s. The Church is thus referred
to in the Terrier : — " Ecclesia de Bally waiter, one townland
glebe (Ullane O'Shiel) ; it pays— Proxies, 5s. ; Refections,
5s. ; Synodals, 2s." Ullane O'Shiel was either the tenant
of the glebe, or the vicar, in 1613. The Visitation of 1622,
reports : — " Ecclesia de Balliwalter, decayed f and adds,
the presentation is rested in the Lord Treasurer (Chichester).
Bally waiter may have derived its name from Walter de Logan,
one of the Anglo-lSorman followers of De Courcy, who sub-
scribed, as witness, one of the Charters of St. Patrick's of
Down. It is probable that he conferred Ballywalter on the
Hospitallers ; for we find Pope Innocent III. confirmed
them in possession of " Terra Walteri de Logan " — Epist.
Innoc. III. Near the north side of the Grange is a circular
earthen mound, or tumulus, 15 feet high, 75 feet in diameter
at the base, and 47 at the summit. " Within a few yards
of the tumulus, the ruins of a church, situated in a small
burial-ground, have, within memory, been removed. The
church, which was removed about 55 years ago, measured
50 by 24 feet ; its side- walls 3 feet, and its gables 6 feet
thick, and were very firmly built. In the graveyard, a large
quantity of human bones, some silver coins, two brass spurs,
and a brass stirrup were found. All trace of this church
and burial-ground were many years ago removed." — Ord-
nance Memoir MS., written in 1837.

The Roll of the Pope Nicholas Taxation returns " Ecclesia
de Douach " as valued at 2| marks. The Church of Doagh,
called so, perhaps, from the Irish word, Dua, " a high
mound," was conferred on the priory of Muckamore shortly
after the English invasion ; and about the year 1251, Isaac,
Bishop of Connor, confirmed that priory in the possession of

184 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

it.* It continued in the possession of Muckaniore until the
suppression of monasteries. According to the inquisition
taken at Antrim in 1605, that monastery was bound to
maintain a curate in the church ; and it had attached to it,
Ballyduaghe, Ballycoggrye, Ballyclare, and Ballyardmadog.
It is strange that there is no entry regarding this church in
the Terrier, but Bashee is twice entered, once as Ecclesia de
Rasci, where it is said that " it has some orchards," and
again as Capella de Rasee, where it is said that it has one
plowland glebe, my Lord Deputy withholds it. It is probable
that one of these entries is intended for Doagh. The
Report of the Visitation of 1622, says : — " Grange de
Dowaghe — The 2 part of all tithes impropriate to the Abbey
of Muckaniore, possessed by Hercules Langford, knt." The
foundations of tjae church yet remain in the graveyard.
They stand east and west, and measure in the extreme 60
by 26 feet. The 'Walls are 4 feet thick ; they are now under
the surface of the graveyard, except a portion of the west
gable, 8 feet high, 6 feet long, and 4 feet thick. Its
masonry is of the very rudest description ; the stones are
not laid in courses, and the largest stone above the founda-
tion does not exceed 12 inches by 10; they are all field
stones from 3 to 8 pounds weight. The centre or heart of
the wall consists of a mass of small stones, from 1 to 4 pounds
weight, confusedly thrown together, but firmly cemented by

* A Pipe Roll, preserved in the Irish Exchequer Record Office,
which belonged to the years 1260, 1261, has preserved an account of
the Seneschal of Ulster, in which appears the following items : —
' ' John de Douach, and Ramilda, his wife, half a mark, because they
are not prosecuted, and because they had not their pledges, but
(gave their) faith. — William de Crokeston (Crooked-Stone), one mark
for the pledge of the said John." Peter de Douach was Bishop of
Connor from 1274 to 1292.

THE PAKISH OF BALLYCLARE. 185

an abundance of coarse mortar or grouting, which, as it does
not appear in the face of the wall, has evidently been poured
into the heart of the wall in a somewhat liquid state. A
number of the dressing stones, chiefly of " Tardree stone/'
are at the heads of graves in the cemetery. A circular
earthen rath is situated 30 feet west of the graveyard, and
on the verge of a precipitous bank, 30 feet high, which
overhangs the Doagh River. It is 64 feet in diameter, and
at present only 6 feet high, and has no outworks. Within
memory, 9 raths in the Grange have been demolished ; one
of them, under which was an artificial cave, was in the
townland of Doagh. In that townland 5 caves have been
demolished and 8 closed up ; and in that of Ballyclare,
within memory, 2 have been destroyed and 4 closed up. In
the field which is separated by a highway from the eastern
side of the burial-ground, is a cave, which had very extensive
ramifications ; one of its passages, it is said, extends under
the church. This cave is described by one who examined it,
and whose description of it can be relied on. It has more
than a dozen chambers connected with each other by narrow
passages, through which a man can with difficulty creep.
The chambers, in some instances, measure 6 feet wide at the
bottom, and 3 at the roof, and are 8 feet high. Their walls
are, as usual, of dry stones, and their roofs of flag-stones ;
their floors are of earth, and are smoothly and carefully
formed. White ashes of turf were found in several of thera.
In one there was a large heap of such ashes occupying the
centre of the floor, and around it were three smooth stones,
which had evidently been used as seats ; the only other
articles found in them were small clay pipes, commonly
called "Danes' pipes," but in the field above them quantities
of arrow-heads and stone hatchets have been found. —

186 DIOCESE OF C02WOB.

Ordnance Memoir MS. In 1833 a Tithe Commission decided
that the Grange of Doagh was liable to pay in tithes to
Yiscount Ferrard, XI 27 7s. Id. yearly, as lay impropriator,
and to G. H. M'D. Johnston, £63 13s. 6d., as vicar of the
parish of Doagh. The farmers contended that the Grange
of Doagh was not, within the memory of man, subject to
payment of any tithe. The Court of Exchequer, on the 16th
of December, 1840, decided that the Grange was not liable to
the impost of tithes or rent charge.

Parkgate is named because at it was one of the entrances
to a great park, formed by Sir Arthur Chichester. It in-
cluded in the Parish of Kilbride, the townlands of Fiftyacres,
Ballywee, Holestone, Kilbride, Douglasland, and Bally-
hamage, the remaining portions of this park were in the
Parish of Donegore and Grange of Doagh. The boundaries
of this park may yet be traced at intervals in those parishes.
It commenced at the Six Mile Water, in the Parish of
Donegore, immediately south of Parkgate, and proceeded
northwards through the village, crossed the little stream
which bounds the Parish of Kilbride, it ran along the
northern sides of the townlands of Ballywee, Holestone,
and Douglasland, from thence it extended eastward into the
Grange of Doagh, and soon afterwards struck suddenly
towards the south, and terminated at the Six Mile Water,
at a point 3 miles and 3 furlongs from that at which it
started. The park included an area of about 3 miles from
east to west, by 2 miles from north to south. One gate was
at the present Village of Parkgate, the other at its eastern
side, was on the same road (that from Antrim to Carrick-
fergus, through Doagh and Ballyclare) ; about half-way
between Doagh and Ballyclare. The site of this gate is also
called Parkgate, and at times " The Thorn Dike," from the

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 187

massive fence which formed the boundary, and was planted
with large Sloe-thorns, some of which still remain. Small
portions of this ditch are still to be traced on the summit of
the hill, in the townland of Holestone. It is formed of
stones and earth, and is from 5 to 6 feet thick at the base,
but at present it nowhere exceeds two feet in height. It is
said that each person passing through the gates paid a toll
of one half-penny.

" The Rectory of St. Brigid's " is valued in the Taxation
of Pope Nicholas at 10 marks. That entry refers to the
Church of Kilbride. In 1605 it was found, by inquisition,
that Kilbride was a parish in the Tuogh of Moylinny,
extending over thirteen townlands, that two-thirds of the
tithes belonged to the rectory, one-third to the vicar, that
the advowson of the rectory belonged to the Crown, and the
collation to the vicarage was vested in the bishop. The
Terrier enters — " Ecclesia de Killbried, 2 towns Erenoth
(Erenach) lands, of which 30 acres belong to St. John's. It
pays — Proxies, 10s. ; Refections, 10s. ; Synodals, 2s.," and
the entry in the Visitation Book of 1622, only says, that it
was then united with Donegore parish, but does not state in
what condition the church was. The burial ground occupies
an elevated position in the townland of Kilbride — " the
Church of St. Bridget." The foundations of the church were
wholly removed about the year 1830; they were near the
centre of the graveyard, and showed that the church measured
68 by 30 feet. Near the graveyard, and at the intersection
of two old roads, extensive foundations have been dug up ;
they are said to have been those of a village, which was
destroyed during the war of 1641. In Drumadarragh there
is a place called u The Trench," though there are now no
traces of a trench, which is said to have been so named

188 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

from works thrown up during that war. On the wild and
uncultivated summit of Drumadarragh Hill is an enclosure
of 93 feet square in the clear ; it is surrounded by a parapet
5 feet high in the exterior, and 3 feet high in the interior,
and of an average breadth of 9 feet. It is chiefly composed
of earth, having, however, many large stones laid longi-
tudinally, which appear in both its outer and inner face.
This parapet contains 18 hollows, which have been in-
tentionally formed, and were faced with stones. They are
much mutilated, but appear to have been about 2 feet deep,
and from 3^ to 10 feet long; the entrance, which is in the
eastern side, is 5 feet wide. There are faint vestiges of a
ditch outside the parapet. In the adjacent parish of
Dunagore there is an elliptical enclosure, which has little
hollows similarly formed, but its use is equally unknown.
There is, however, a tradition that, during the wars of 1641,
the Protestants were encamped here, and that the Irish
were encamped on the opposite side of the valley, at Duna-
moy Moat, in the parish of Rashee. It is said that several
cannon balls have been found at both places. There are
six forts in this civil parish, all circular and constructed of
earth ; they vary in diameter from 45 to 80 feet, and present
nothing peculiar in their construction or situation. Upwards
of twenty caves are remembered by the inhabitants, but,
with the exception of six, they have been wholly or partly
demolished, or their entrances closed up. Bones of deer,
sheep, cows, ashes of wood, charred husks of corn, and a few
"Danes' pipes," were all that were found in them. In
Ballywee, or Ballyvoy — " the town of the cave," there are
five caves, in one of which there is a spring well ; three of
them are now closed up.

Near the summit of Drumnadarragh Hill are the imperfect

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLAEE. 189

remains of what the people term a " Giant's grave." The
monument was quite perfect until about 1833, when it was
somewhat injured, but in 1838 it was almost totally destroyed
to form the enclosure for a stackyard, which is partly built
on its site. It consisted of a double row of great standing
stones, bearing S.W. and N.E. ; the avenue, consisting of
two rows, was 47 feet long ; it had 6 standing stones in one
row, and 5 in the other; the parallel rows were 3 feet 6
inches apart. The stones in the rows were nearly equidistant^
and they varied in height from 2 to 6 feet. Near the S.W.
end a stone, 7 feet 5 inches long, 3 feet 8 inches broad, and
15 inches thick, is laid trans versly across from one row to
the other, resting at one side on a stone 1 foot high, and at
the other on one 2 feet 4 inches high. No other stone is
remembered to have been laid in this tabular form. About
6 feet S.E. of the S.W. end of the row is a large stone, 5
feet broad, 5 feet 8 inches long, and 2 feet 8 inches thick.
About 41 yards N.W. is another, 4 feet 3 inches long, 2
feet broad, and 2 feet 4 inches thick, which seems to have
rested on 3 stones which lie at its base. At the distance of
230 yards south of the giant's grave is a standing stone
nearly 3 feet high. — See Ord. Mem. MS.

There is a very remarkable stone in the civil parish of
Kilbride, called " Holestone," of which a woodcut is given
in the Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. I., where S. M'Skimin
says : — u On a rocky eminence, in the townland of Bally-
vernish (called Holestone by the Ordnance Survey), about
one mile from the village of Doagh, stands a large whin-stone
slab called the Holestone. This stone is upwards of 5 feet in
height above the ground, and near the base 6 feet 8 inches
in circumference, and 10 inches in thickness. At about 3
feet frcni the ground there is a round hole perforated through

190 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

it, sufficient to admit a common-sized hand. The hole has
evidently been made by art. It is said that within memory,
a large stone, with a hole through it, stood on a hill near
Cushendall. Tn Rosshire, Scotland, there is a stone exactly
resembling the above ; and near Kirkwall, Orkney, at a
place called Stennis, is a large stone standing with a hole
through it, said to have been a Druid's altar. The place
where it stands is still deemed a place consecrated to the
meeting of lovers ; and when they join hands through the
stone, the pledge of love and truths there given is sacred,
and rarely, if ever, has it been broken." Dr. Petrie adds,
that such stones are found in most parts of Ireland, and
particularly in the burial-grounds attached to very ancient
churches; and he gives a wood-cut of one in the churchyard of
Castle Dermot, which is inscribed with characters, seemingly,
Ogham. He also states that Mr. "VVilford, writing in the
Asiatic Researches, Vol. VI., informs us, that perforated stones
are not uncommon in India ; and devout people pass through
them, when the opening will admit, in order to be regene-
rated. If the hole be too small, they put the hand or foot
through it, and, with a sufficient degree of faith, it answers
nearly the same purpose. A fine example of the Hole-stone
occurs at Campsey, in the parish of Faughanvale, in the
County of Deny. A story occurs in the Booh of Bally mote,
in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, from which it
appears, that such stones were at times used for the purpose
of chaining to them culprits about to be put to death.
Eochaidh (Eoghy), son of Enna Cinnselach (Kinshelagh),
King of Leinster, slew the only son of the chief poet of
Niall of the Hostages. The poet urged his royal master to
march into Leinster, where he encamped at Ahade, near
Tullow, laying waste the country all round, until the men of

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 191

Leinster were compelled to deliver up their young prince.
The poet, now prepared for vengeance : round the neck of
the youth he put a chain, the end of which was passed
through a perforated " upward flag-stone," and made fast by
an iron bar at the back. The story tells that a party of nine
were then sent to kill him ; but when he perceived their
design, he made a sudden tug at the chain, which broke it;
then seizing the iron bar, with which it had been fastened
to the stone, he plied it so bravely that his nine assailants
fled ; and he made good his escape to the Leinster camp. He
is afterwards said to have drawn from his girdle a liic curad,
or champion's flat stone, which be threw across the Slaney at
the vengeful poet, and struck him in the forehead, and killed
him on the spot. It is also said that this prince accompanied,
in disguise, King Niall's army, in his expedition into France ;
where, having passed to the opposite side of the river Loire,
he shot the king dead with an arrow (saiget) from his fidbach
(or bow). He afterwards made his escape and reached
Leinster in safety. But to return to the subject of Hole-
stones : Mr. O'Curry, in 1841, with a copy of the story in
his hand, visited the scene of the poet's intended vengeance,
and there found the identical flag-stone lying at the end of a
field. Some labourers trenching a field in the neighbourhood
found the field filled with small graves, at a depth of from 18
to 20 inches below the surface. The graves were formed
generally of 6 flag-stones — one sometimes at the bottom, 4
at the sides and ends, and one, sometimes more, to cover
these in. They were from 3 to 4 feet long, 1J feet broad,
and about 3 feet deep. Every grave contained one, two, or
more urns, bottom down, covered with small flags, and con-
taining minute fragments of burnt bones and black ashes, or
mould. Mr. O'Curry thought that these contained the

192 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

remains of the men killed during King Niall's invasion, but
the place may have been the ordinary place of sepulture for
the district. Such stone-lined graves were common in
Ireland about the period of St. Patrick, and the holestone
used, for the occasion, to secure the prince, may have been
only one of the funeral monuments. This supposition
would explain why Holestones occur so frequently in early
Christian graveyards, which had probably been previously
used for pagan interments. A quarry, which is being
worked on the rocky eminence on which stands the Hole-
stone, it is to be feared, will, at no distant day, cause
its destruction. For an account of an urn found in Bally-
hama»e in 1825, and of other antiquities, see Ulster Journal
ofArchceol, Vol. IV., p. 270.

On Browndod Hill there is a line of Standing Stones due
north of similar Standing Stones, two miles distant from
them on Dunegore Hill ; the most southern of these is 3
feet 9 inches by 3 feet ; it stands on the top of the hill, and
is 280 yards west of the principal great stone monument on
that hill. The. second standing stone is 748 yards north of
first, and the third is 5| yards north of the second. It is of
white porphry, brought with extreme trouble from Tardree
mountain ; it stands 7 feet 9 inches above the ground, at
the point where the townland of Browndod, in the parish of
Donegore, meets those of Tardree and Carnearney, in the
parish of Connor. This is " the long stone on Brundode,"
mentioned in the grant of James I. to Sir James Hamilton,
afterwards transferred to Sir Arthur Chichester, as one of
the boundaries of the territory of Moylinny. Browndod,
judging from the number of ancient monuments, which still,
though in an imperfect state, remain on it, seems to have
been a place of vast importance in ancient times. The

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 193

remains on this hill consist of two comparatively perfect
arrangements of great stones, commonly called altars, and
one imperfect ; four (Aims, fifteen enclosures of various kinds,
the foundations of two buildings, standing stones, and
ancient roads and paths. The principal road or path is in
width from 5 to 9 feet ; it traverses the western side of the
hill for more than a mile ; it is not paved or covered with
stones, but is formed merely by throwing up the earth on
its lowest sides ; it passes the two smaller altars (?). Another
road, or branch of the same, leads from the principal altar (?)
to the largest enclosure. Of the 15 enclosures, 5 are cir-
cular, 9 elliptic, and 1 approaching in 'form to an ellipse.
They are all formed of earth and stones used indiscrimi-
nately, except in two instances where they consist in each
case of a single row of large stones, set a little apart from
each other. There is no tradition that any weapons or
ornaments have been found in the vicinity uf these ancient
remains. See Ordnance Memoir MS.

In Browndod, on the summit of a little knoll which is
bounded by two streams, stands one of the most perfect forts
in the county. The body of the fort is 150 feet in diameter,
and is surrounded by three ramparts and two ditches. The
inner rampart varies in height from 5 to 9 feet above the
body of the fort, and from 9 to 14 feet above the ditch, and
is 22 feet broad at the base ; a gallery or cave is carried
round most of this rampart ; the ditch is 16 feet wide. The
second rampart varies in height above the inner ditch from
3 to 9 feet, and is 16 feet broad at the base. The second
ditch is 9 feet wide. The third, or outer rampart, has almost
disappeared ; its breadth at the base was 7 feet ; the entrance
is on the eastern side and is 8 feet wide.

In the townland of Dunmuggy there is a great fort, in the

194 DIOCESE OP CONNOR.

ramparts and body of which, is a ramification of galleries or
caves, built with stones and roofed with great flag-stones.
This fort, though considered the very home of the fairies,
has not been so fortunate as might be expected, for a great
part of its rampart and ditch has been destroyed. In that
townland there is a tumulus, 18 feet high, and 40 feet in
diameter at the summit, and 122 at the base. It is sur-
rounded by a ditch 45 feet wide, outside of which is a
parapet ; both the ditch and parapet have suffered much ; a
row of large stones remains on its eastern side. The mound
itself has suffered little, and seems to be composed of stones
and coated over with earth. Ballygowan fort is seated on a
gravelly ridge, between two little streams which flow along
its eastern and western sides, and unite at a little distance
from its southern extremity, about 400 yards from the fort •
it is elevated 46 feet above these. The body of the fort is
nearly circular, its diameters being 146 and 151 feet ; it rises
from 5 to 9 feet above the ditch, which is 9 feet wide. Out-
side the ditch are the remains of a parapet. At the distance
of 13 yards north of the fort there is [a circular earthen
mound, 13 feet high, 66 feet in diameter at the base, and 31
at the summit. It has been much injured. Near the fort
is a cave. There was a very extensive cave in Ballyclaverty
but it is totally demolished, — See Ord. Mem. MS.

The church of Rash ee is valued in the Taxation of Pope
Nicholas, under the name " Ecclesia de Rassi," at 7 marks.
The name is written in Irish, Raih-Sithe (pron. Raw-Shee —
" the fort of the fairies"). There is not at present any rath
near the site of the church, but the adjoining field on the
north side of the graveyard is called Forth-Hill. The
Tripartite Life of St. Patrick relates, that the Church of
Rath-Sithe, in Dalaradia, was founded by St. Patrick, who

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 195

placed over it one of his disciples. It continued to be a
bishop's see for many years, but our annals have preserved
the name of only one of them. The Annals of the Four
Masters enter under the year 617: — " Eoghan (Owen),
Bishop of Rath-Sithe, rested." The same entry occurs in
several of the other annals, but in the Annals of Clonmac-
noise, Eoghan is called " Bishop of Ardsrath " (now
Ardstraw, in the County of Tyrone). This, however, is the
only one of the annals in which he is so designated. The
Terrier says : — " Capella de Rasee — One plowland glebe,
My Lord Deputy (Chichester) witholds it ; it pays Proxies,
5s. ; Refections, 5s. ; Synodals, 2s. ; " and the Visitation of
1622, reports — " Ecclesia de Roshee, decayed." Though
generally when the Church had been the see of a bishop, the
lands continued, up to a comparatively recent date, to
belong to the bishop of the diocese, there is no record that
the Bishop of Connor possessed any see-lands in Rashee.
No traces of the church remain in the graveyard. There is
a fine spring well in Mr.. Hanna's field, a few perches south
of the graveyard, which is said to have been a holy well.
In the townland of Dunamoy there is a large moat ; it is
about fifty feet high, is surrounded by a deep fosse, and has
a level top about twenty yards in diameter. A little south
of the hamlet called Carnlea (Grey Gam) are the ruins of
the earn ; most of its stones have been removed to repair
roads and build ditches. An urn was found in it ; and an
artificial cave, which is now closed, is in the grove to the
north-east of it. There is a rectangular fort, or lis, on the.
eastern slope of Big Collin. — G. K. Kinahan, M.R.I. A.,
Journal of the Hist. Assoc. Ireland, 1875.

The Taxation of Pope Nicholas values at 7 marks " Ecclesia
villcc Augustini et Ade Corry," which Dr. Reves translates

196 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

'-' the Churches of Austin's-town and of Adam Corry." The
first of these Churches was situated in Ballyeaston, which is
a corruption of Ballyaustin — " Austin's-town," so called be-
cause the church was dedicated to St. Augustine, and was,
perhaps, an impropriation of some of the Augustinian
monasteries. The ancient holy well still supplies the village
with excellent water. The other church of the Union was in
the ancient graveyard in the fcownland of Bally cor; it measured
63 feet by 17. The graveyard is principally used by the
few Catholics who reside in the neighbouring civil parishes.
Ballycor receives its name from the pot-shaped holes which
are worn by the stream in its rocky bed near the mill ; the
word coire, signifies a cauldron, and enters into the com-
position of the names of many townlands. It is, therefore,
probable that there is some mistake about the reading of the
latter part of the entry in the Taxation Roll. The Terrier
says, " Ecclesia de Ballychor hath a plowland in glebe, but
it is kept from the church by Nicholas Dobbin. It pays —
Proxies, 5s; Refections, 5s.; Synodals, 2s." The Visitation
Book of 1622, enters, " Ecclesia de Ballycorra, decayed."

In the townland of Killylane there is the site of an ancient
church and old enclosures, the remains of an ancient mill-
dam and mill, and several artificial caves. The caves used
to be resorted to by Tories, named O'Hagan, and are now
called after them. These remains indicate an extensive
ancient settlement. It was situated north-east of Killylane
Burn, and on the west side of the townland.

Mr. Kinahan, in a paper read before t he Royal Historical
and Archaeological Society in 1875t says, that the White
Carn, in the townland of Ballyalbanagh, a little north of
M'Call's-town, sixty years ago, was twenty-one yards in
diameter, and about twelve feet high ; now all the stones

THE PAEISII OF BALLYCLARE. 197

have been removed. In the centre of the Cam was found
a Kistvean, four feet long by twenty inches wide, and
twenty inches high, formed of four stones, and covered by a
large flat whinstone. This cover-stone has been removed to
the side of the field, while the other stones are used as
hearth stones. In the Kistvean, near its east end, on a heap
of ashes, was an elaborately sculptured urn. Drawings of a
fragment of the urn and of the Kistvean are given in the
•Journal. Hunting Cam is the name of an eminence half-a-
mile due east of White Cam, but of the Cam not a trace
remains. Carndoo (black earn) was about a mile north-east
of the Huntiug Cam. Of it there now T'emain only the
Kistvean and a few large stones. The Kistvean seemed to
consist of eight stones, six standing, with two horizontal
that rested on four of the others. In a field immediately
west of the Cam, a stone, measuring 8 inches by 1 1 was
dug up. There is inscribed on it a network of rectilinear
scorings. — See drawing of it in R. Hist, and Arch. Journal,
1876-1878, p. 293. On the summit of Ballyboley and
north-west of Carndoo, is a Cam, called Carniard. In a bog,
called Duncan's Flow, an ancient roadway was discovered,
under fifteen feet of turf. The roadway was 7 feet wide,
formed of split slabs of oak laid on transverse longitudinal
stretchers of round oak. At the south end of the road
there is a rock jutting into the bog, on which there was
formerly a forth ; and at the north end there seems to be
the track of an old roadway leading to the old church and
-caves of Killylane, while still farther north is the site of a
large rath, north of the Glennwhirry river. A. MS. of a
lecture, written in Belfast, 24th Feb., 1804, which formerly
belonged to the late Dr. Stephenson, says : —

" Small caves abound in the dry and high banks of our rivers.

198 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Of all I have seen on the banks of the Six Mile Water, those-
in the townland of Ballycor, about a quarter of a mile south
from Bally easton, are the most perfect. There is a number in the
same beautiful little hill, each consisting of a number of apartments
communicating with each other by little pipes, such as a man could
easily creep through. The entrance into each is from the top, be-
tween two large stones. There appeared to me to be two entrances
into each, but into different apartments. The pipes which formed the
communications are each three feet long, and each pipe is covered by
two large stones. The first apartment is oval, nine feet long, and
five feet wide — the end farthest from the entrance contracted into a
pipe communicating with an apartment, 22 feet long and 5 wide ;
then a pipe led from that into another, 9 feet long by 5 wide, from
which another pipe led to a similar apartment at right angles to that
one. All these structures are completely below the surface. There-
are other caves in a little hill about 100 perches nearer the north
side of the Six Mile Water. One set of them consists of three
apartments, each 15 feet long, and 5 feet wide, connected with each
other by pipes, and having two openings. This set of caves forms
three sides of a parallelogram."

A writer in the Ulster Journal of Archceology, Vol V.,
relates a tradition, that when O'Neill forfeited, it was one
M'Clean, from the Isle of Skye, who was the first of the
Scotch settlers who came to the parish of Ballycor. He
obtained the entire of Killylane and Ballyalbanagh (the
town of the Scotch), and, it is said, that at that period there
was not a " smoking house * to be seen between Carrick-
Fergus and Antrim. The great townland of Ballyboley,
containing nearly 3,000 acres, received its name from the
ancient custom of the Irish of driving up their cattle from
the valleys to depasture, during the summer, the lands
which were unfit for tillage. Dr. Reeves says, that for two
miles along the face of the hill is a series of foundations of
enclosures, called by the people, Bohy-houses — the residence
of the owners of the cattle. They are, for the most part,
quadrangular, and seem the foundations of cabins with

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE.

199

paddocks attached to them. In this townland, at Carn-doo,
there is a number of large stones, arranged in a kind of
circle, within which are six large upright stones, disposed in
pairs, supporting two blocks, about 5 feet long, and from 2
to 3 feet square, laid horizontally upon them. The frequent
occurrence of such sepulchral memorials throughout the
neighbourhood, and all along the valley of the Six Mile
Water, is very remarkable. The parishes of Ballycor, Kil-
waughter, Raloo, and Ballynure may almost be said to unite
at one point, which was the scene of the great battle in
which perished one of the most illustrious of the Irish
monarchs, Tuathal Teachtmhar (pron. Tooal Tachtwar— " the
legitimate." This king restored the monarchy, which had
been overthrown by a rebellion of the plebeians, and exacted
from the people an oath similar to that imposed by his
ancestor, Ugony Mor— " by the sun, moon, and elements,"
that the sovereignty should be restricted to his descendants.
This attempt on the part of the monarch to obviate the
disorders arising from elections, and to exclude the other
branches of the Milesian royal line, excited the jealousy of
Mai, King of Ulster, who encountered the forces of the
king and slew him in battle, about the year 160. Under
that year, the annalist, Tighernach, relates the occurrence :—
« Tuathal Teachtmhar was slain by Mai Mac Rochraidhe
(Roghrey), King of Ulster, at Linn-an-gabunn in Dalaradia."
The same occurrence is related in a fuller manner by the
Four Masters, whose chronology however antedates it by
many years. A.D. 106, " Tuathal Teachtmhar, after having
been thirty years in the sovereignty of Ireland, was slain
by Mai, son of Rochraidhe, King of Ulster, in Magh-Line,
at Moin-an-chatha (Mun-in-cawa — ' the bog of the battle'),
in Dal-Araidhe (Dal-Araye), where the two rivers, Ollar

200 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

and Ollarbha (Ollarwa), spring. Ceann-gubha (Can-goo wa)
is the name of the hill on which he was killed, as this
quatrain proves —

" Ollarand Ollarbha,
Ceann-Gubha, lordly, noble,
Are not names (given) without a cause,
The day that Tuathal was killed."

And as was also said —

" Tuathal, for whom the land was fair,
Chief of Meath, of a thousand heroes,
Was wounded — that chief of fair Freamhainn (Frawin),
On the side of the hill of Gleann-an-Gabhain (Glan-in-gowin)."

The site of the great battle is very particularly indi-
cated. We have shown (p. 151) that Ollarbha is the Six
Mile Water. The ancient Irish tale, the Dialogue of the
Two Sages, relates the journey of a poet who passed through
Larne, and over Moylinny, and over Ollarbha, and over
Tullyrusk. In order to go from Rathmore to Tullyrusk, he
crossed the River Ollarbha, which is evidently the Six Mile
Water. That river was called in the beginning of the 17th
century, Owen-na-view, which nearly represents Abhain-na-
bh-feadh — "the river of the rushes." The SixMile Waterrises
in a spring in Bally boley Park Moss, in the parish of Ballycor.
The Ollar is the Larne River, which rises in Bally bracken
Moss, in the parish of Ballynure. In the townland of Head-
wrood, in the parish Killwaughter, there isaspot whereabranch
of the Six Mile Water can be turned into the Larne River,
and there is also a bog which Dr. Reeves supposes is the site
of the battle — the Moin-an-Catha, and Dr. O'Donovan, in
the notes of the Four Masters, says, " Ceann-gubha, i.e.. Head
or Hill of Grief. This is doubtlessly Ballyboley Hill, and
Tuathal's monument is the pile at Carn-doo, above described.
Gleann-an-Ghabhan, i.e., the Valley of the Smith, was

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 201

probably the name of that part of the Valley of the Six-
Mile Water, nearest to Ballyboley Hill." I doubt much
that the successful rebels, the Ulstermen, would permit the
royal army to spend the time required to erect a monument,
such as that at Carn-doo, over the remains of the slain
monarch. It more likely marks the grave of some Ulster
ehief, who fell before some Heremonion warrior, and whose
fate, or that of his compatriots, was bewailed on the Hill of
Grief; for it is not likely that the Ulstermen felt much grief
for the fall of Tuathal. It is more than probable that the
scene of the battle is at the junction of the civil parishes of
Ballynure and Raloo. The King fell in re cnuic Glinde an
Gabann, in the field of the hill of Gleann-an- Gabhain (pro
nounced Glen-in-Gowan, « The Glen of the Smith '). This is
obviously the modern Ballygowan. There are two adjoining
townlands, each named Ballygowan, which conjointly contain
1,500 acres, one is in the parish of Ballynure, and one in
that of Raloo. They are separated by a deep glen, through
which runs a stream. That glen between the two Bally-
gowans, is doubtlessly the Glen-an-Gowan mentioned by the
ancient poet, and Ballygowan Catholic Church occupies the
spot where, in all probability, the battle most fiercely raged.
The march of the King seems to have been from about
■Carrickfergus, by some ancient road, perhaps that leading
through Ballyvallagh, towards Bathmore and the other
great forts north of the Six Mile Waters, with the intention,
perhaps, of imitating the policy of his ancestor, Ugony, who
assigned Moylinny to his son, Laegh, and Larne to his son,
Lathar. In order to avoid the necessity of fording either
the Larne River or the Six Mile Water, which, in the face
of a very vigilant enemy, would be attended by difficulties,
it was necessary to cross at their sources. For the same

202 DIOCESE Or CONNOR.

reason that locality must have been frequently the route for
armies, and consequently the scene of many a bloody
encounter. Jt is on this account that the hill sides are
covered with so many Cromleachs, and other funereal
monuments, which mark the last resting-places of the
gallant dead, who fell disputing this pass of danger. A
battle was fought somewhere in that neighbourhood, but
probably ten or twelve miles farther down along the Six
Mile Water, which is thus recorded by the Four Masters,
a.d. 205 — " Fothadh Airgtheach (Folia Arrikagh) was-
afterwards slain by Caoilte, at the battle of Ollarba in Line
(Six Mile Water in Moylinne)'' This Foha was one of two
usurpers who held the throne of Ireland conjointly for one
year after the death of Cairbre, the fifth in descent from
King Tuathal, until he was slain by Caoilte, who was foster-
son of Finn MacCool. A very curious reference to the
death and burial of this usurper occurs in an ancient story
preserved in the Leabhar-na-h- Uidhre, the oldest manuscript
in the library of the Royal Irish Academy. Mongan, King
of Ulster, who resided at Hath more, and who died in the
year 620, one day asked the poet, Dalian Forgaill, where
and what was the manner of the death of Fothadh
Airgtheach. The poet answered that he had been slain in a
place in Leinster. King Mongan said that this was not
true, whereupon the poet threatened to satirize himself, his
father, mother, and wife. The King, to avert the poet's
indignation, agreed to pay 63 cows, if in three days he failed
to prove that the poet's account of the battle was not true.
At the end of three days, a strange warrior, bearing the
headless handle of a spear, presented himself at the palace
of King Mongan and inquired the cause of his grief. " A
wager I have made," said Mongan, " with yonder poet>

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 203

about the place of the death of Fothadh Airgtheach ; he said
it happened in Leinster." The warrior said the poet had said
what was false. " I will prove it," said the warrior. " We
were along with thee, O Finn,"* said the youth. " Hush,'*
said Mongan, " that is not good." " We were with Finn,
once," said he ; " we went from Alba. We fought against
Fothadh Airgtheach, here f with thee at Ollarba. We
fought a battle ; T made a shot at him, and I drove my
spear through him, so that my spear entered the earth at
the other side of him, and its iron head was left buried in
the earth. This is the very handle that was in that spear.
The bald rock from which I made that shot will be found ;
and east of it will be found the iron head of the spear
buried in the earth ; and the tomb of Fothadh Airgtheach
(will be found) near it, a little on the east. There is a chest
of stone about him in the earth. His two Fails (bracelets)
of silver, and his Bunne do at (twisted rings), and his neck-
torque (Muintorc) of silver, are laid upon his chest (coffin of
stone) ; and there is a rock standing at his tomb ; and there
is an ogham inscription on the end, which is in the ground
of the rock ; and what is written in it is :

Eochaidh (or Fothaidh) Airgteach here,
who icas killed by Cailte in battle, on the side of Finn.
Our warriors buried him as I have described, and his funeral
obsequies were performed." See & Curry's Lectures.

* King Mongan was a man so wise, that his people said, he waa
no other than Finn Mac Cumhaill (Fin Mac Cooal) himself, come
alive again. Finn, according to the legend, had eaten the Salmon
of Knowledge, and, therefore, knew all things past, present, and
future.

t This is another proof that the Ollarbha is the Six Mile Water,
for the conversation, according to the story, occurred at Itathtnore,
the residence of King MoDgan, and the Ollarbha is said to be here%
or, in other words, quite close.

204 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

The district of Glenwhirry — "the glen of the river
Curry " — takes its name from the river, which runs by
Kells into the Main. "It is called," says Dr. Joyce, "Glan-
curry, in the Inquisitions, and its Irish name, Gleannd-
vhoire, the glen of the river Curry or Coire, this last name
sigaifying a cauldron. The cauldron is a deep pool formed
under a cataract ; and a rocky hill near it is called Sceir-a'-
choire — ' the rock of the cauldron,' which in the modernised
form, Skerrywhirry, is the name of a townland." This
district, which is separated on the south by the Glenwhirry
river from 2Iagh-Line (Moylinny), formed the southern por-
tion of the ancient Tuogh or territory of the Muintir Muir-
rlagain — " the tribe of Murrigan," whose territory comprised
Glenwhirry and the parish of Rathcavan. James I. conferred
on Shane Mac Brian O'Neill the territory which at present
constitutes Glenwhirry and the civil parishes of Rathcavan
and Skerry. Charles II., by letters patent, in the 19th
year of his reign, erected in favour of Rose O'Neill, the
grand-daughter of Shane, the territory of Muntermurrigan,
alias Le Braid, and lands of Knockboynebraide into the
"manor of Bockna." In 1634, the celebrated Dr. Colville
(see Galgorm in the parish of Ahoghill) was presented to the
Rectory of Rathcavan and Skerry, which he held with many
other benefices. After the Crom wellian usurpation, Lady Rose
and her husband, Randal, Marquis of Antrim, notwithstand-
ing their great estates, were both poor, while Dr. Colville
was possessed of untold wealth. A large portion of the
Manor of Buckna passed, by deed, for a certain sum, into
Dr. Colville's possession. The marriage of Alice, daughter
of Hugh Colville, with Stephen Moore, afterwards Viscount
Mountcashel, transferred the Colville property to the
Mountcashel family. At length the Commissioners of

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLARE. 205

Encumbered Estates, on the 8th of November, 1850, sold
the interest of the Earl of Mountcashel, in the Glen whirry
territory. It is described as containing 11,401 acres, free of
tithes, being the entire civil Parish of Glenwhirry. It was
then held by two Middle-men, under a lease dated 28th of
December, 1724, for three lives, with a covenant for perpe-
tual renewal, at the yearly rent of £410 12s 8d., and a
renewal fine £20 (Irish), on the fall of each life. The
estate was sold, subject to the chief rent of £5, late
Irish currency, payable out of this estate and the Braid
estate, to Lord O'Neill, who is also entitled to the exclusive
right of free chase and free warren on this estate, and to the
mines and minerals thereon. Mr. William Coates was de-
clared the purchaser for £9,500, being 23 years' purchase
on the chief rent.

PARISH PRIESTS AND CHURCHES.

The District of Bally clare, until the year 1832, formed a
portion of the Parish of Lame and Carrickfergus, the parish
priest of which, until about 1814, resided, generally, in the
civil Parish of Kilwaughter, or near the confines of the civil
Parishes of Raloo and Ballynure. In 1832, Dr. Crolly, for
£30, obtained from Robert Rice, a respectable inn-keeper in
Ballyclare, a lease, for lives renewable for ever, of a plot of
ground 92 feet by 82 feet, in Ballyclare, at the annual rent
of 3/-. On this the little church was erected. His Lordship
had dedicated the Church of Greencastle on the Sunday
before he obtained this lease, and he arranged that one ot
the priests of Belfast should officiate each Sunday at 9 o'clock,
in Greencastle, and at 1 2-30 in Ballyclare. This arrangement
continued until 1854, when the Rev. Patrick Ryan was
appointed Administrator of Greencastle and Ballyclare.

206 diocese or connor.

The boundary between the district ceded by Father O'Neill,
and that attached to his Church in Ballygowan, was very
unsettled until the following arrangement was made : —

" Carrickfergus, 17th of April, 1837

' ' The mearings between Ballyclare district, and Larne and

Ballygowan charge agreed on, by the Right Rev. Dr. Denvir and

Rev. A. O'Neill, viz. : — The Silver Stream up to the Straid-a-hana

Road ; from that road to the Town of Straid ; from Straid by the

public road into Ballynure ; the road from the bridge in Ballynure,

to the cairn above Samuel Havron's, of Ballyboley ; and from that

to the west of Patrick and Barney Havron's, which terminates Larne

charge ; leaving to Larne and Carrickfergus, all and every family to

the east and north-east of this line ; and all and every Catholic,

family to the west and north-west of it, in the charge of

Ballyclare.

"►Jl C. Denvir, Bishop of Down Connor.

" Signed, April 17th, 1837,

"In presence of

" Arthur O'Neill,

" Daniel Curoe."

In the year 1869, Father M'Kenna, P.P., Larne, gave up
the Church of Ballygowan, and the districts attached to it ;
and, at the same time, Father Lynch, P.P., Bally mena, gave
up the district of Glenwhirry, when* Ballyclare and Bally-
gowan were formed into a parish, to which Father Kavanagh
was appointed. The district of Glenwhirry, had from remote
times been united to Larne and Carrickfergus, until about

* The population of the Catholic Parish of Ballyclare, in 1881. can
be approximated thus — In the civil Parish of Raloo, Catholics 81 ;
total population, 1374; Ballynure, Catholics 115; total population,
2949 ; Ballylinny, Catholics 86 ; total population 1908. Doagh,
Catholics 147 ; total population, 1150 ; Bally cor, Catholics 15 ; total
population, 1065 ; Glenwhirry, Catholics 87 ; total population,
1374. In all these civil parishes, 574 Catholics out of the total popu*
lation of 14,369. To this is to be added the population in the portions
of the civil Parishes of Kilwaughter, Donegore, and Templepatrick,
and the Town of Parkgate, which would make the entire Catholic
population about 674, out of the total population of 1 6, 734.

THE PARISH OF BALLYCLABE. 207

the year 1815, when the Parish Priest, being then Chaplain

to the gaol in Carrickfergus, was necessitated to reside

nearer that town, and Glenwhirry was consequently attached

to Craigbilly, or Ballymena. During the times of persecution

Mass was celebrated at a bohog, or Mass-station near the

source of the Kells Water ; the place until half a century ago

was called Altar-holme.

The Church of Ballygowan was built in 1788 by Friar

MacCary, but it was then much smaller than it is at present,

for a portion of it, towards the eastern end, was cut off,

for a residence for the priest. Previous to the erection of

Ballygowan Church, Mass was celebrated in a retired glen,

along a stream, in the townland of Upper Ballygowan,* in

* Many of the parishioners of Ballygowan are named Agnew ; they
are of the same race as the proprietor of Kilwaughter ; their proper
name is O'Gneeve ; their ancestors were hereditary bards of the
Clannaboy 0 'Neills. Richard Dobbs, in his Description of the County
of Antrim, written in 1683, in describing an old castle on a rock off
Ballygellie headland, says — " Under this hill is a small building, 16
f eet square, upon a rock in the sea, where one Agnew, an Irish poet,
dwelt in the old times." One of them obtained Kilwaughter under
the MacDonnells, and his descendants, becoming Protestants, were
enabled to hold it. An Inquisition held in Ballymena, January
8th, 1635, found that the Earl of Antrim, on the 4th of April,
1625, gave a lease for ever of Bally crinlaw and Bally nacreage
to John O'Gneeve, of Ballyhampton, and on the 1st of April, 1624,
he leased, for 101 years, part of Mullaghboy and Tobbermore to
Fardorragh Mac Mulmorra O'Gneeve and Daniel O'Gneeve. Petty,
in the Down Survey, returns Captain Magnew as proprietor in 1641
of " £ of Killoghter," and enters him again as the person to whom
the land was distributed by the Cromwellian Government, but adds
after his name, Proi., indicating that he was then a Protestant. All
the remainder of the parish was assigned to Alexander M'Donnell.
One of the townlands was at that time named Lisnedrumbard — "the
rath of the bard's ridge." The present proprietor is William Agnew,
Esq., J. P., whose family name is Jones, but he is called Agnew by
Her Majesty's permission ; his grandmother, through whom he in-
herits the estate, was Agnew.

208 diocese or connor.

the civil parish of Bally nure, and in various places in
Kilwaughter.

As we have already said, the first parish priest appointed
to the newly constituted parish, was Father John Kavanagh,
who was appointed in June, 1869, and resigned in February,
1873. Father Patrick Farrelly was the next parish priest.
He is a native of the parish of Mount Nugent, in the diocese
of Meath ; he studied in the Diocesan College of his native
diocese, from August, 1858, until he entered the college of
St. Croix, in Le Mans, where he studied seven months
preparatory to entering Le Grand Seminaire de Limoges,
which he entered in 1863. He was ordained by Dr.
Dorrian in Belfast, on the 22nd of September, 1867; was
appointed curate of Duneane, on the 1st of October, 1867;
was appointed curate of Cushendall, 1st of April, 1871,
from which he was appointed parish priest of Ballyclare, on
the 1st of March, 1873. He was appointed Administrator
of Ballymacarrett, on the 24th of July, 1875, and was
succeeded by the present Parish Priest, the Rev. James
O'Neill.

Father O'Neill was born, August 21st, 1837, in the town-
land of Tamnybrack, in the civil Parish of Bacavan ; he
entered St. Malachy's College, August 25th, 1860; the
College of the Noble Irish, Salamanca, September 15th,
1862 ; was ordained by the Bishop of Salamanca, September
26th, 1866; appointed curate of Longhguile, October 6th,
1866 ; curate of Kilmore, November 1st, 1869 ; curate of St.
Mary's, Belfast, August 2nd, 1872 ; parish priest of Bally-
clare, 24th of July, 1875.

PARISH OF ANTRIM.

-o*o*o-

THE Parish of Antrim comprises those townlands of the
civil Parish of Donegore which are not in the Parish
of Ballyclare ; the civil Parish of Nilteen except the town
of Parkgate ; the part of the civil Parish of Templepatrick
which is in the barony of Upper Belfast ; the civil parishes
of Muckamore and Antrim; the part of that of Connor
which is south of Kells Water ; the Grange of Shilvodan ;
and part of the townland of Sharvogues, in the civil Parish

of Drummatri.

We have already treated of the townlands belonging
to the civil Parish of Donegore, which are included in
the Parish of Ballyclare. The Church of Donegore is valued
in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, under the name of
" Ecclesia de Duncurri," at 15 marks. The Terrier enters
" Ecclesia de Dunneguire, the Archdeacon hath it ; a plow-
land glebe; it pays Proxies, 10/-, Refections, 10/-, Synodals,
2/-." The entry " the Archdeacon hath it," refers to the
arrangement made by James I., which united the parish to
the corps of the Archdeaconry of Connor. The Visitation
Book of 1642, merely reports that in the Protestant arrange-
ment, it was united with Kilbride. The Church stood within
the ancient cemetery ; and like many others, stood in the
vicinity of a large funereal mound, called Dunegore Moat,
which is a little to the N.W. of the church. This Moat,
one of the most conspicuous objects in the country, is from

210 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

its situation and construction, a remarkable structure of its
kind. It is erected on the steep acclivity of Donegore Hill,
which rises 575 feet above the Six Mile Water, and forms
a portion of the northern side of the valley of that river.
The form of the Moat at present is that of the lower frustrum
of a cone. It had formerly been almost conical, and about
six feet higher, but since it was subjected to agriculture,
about the year 1828, its figure has been sadly deformed.
It is at present 44 feet in height, from the point where the
rock on which it is raised, makes its appearance. At its
base it is circular and rises at an angle of 40 degrees to its
summit, which is oval, its major diameter being 98 feet, and
its minor diameter 82 feet. It seems to be entirely con-
structed of earth. Some time, about 1830, a crowbar
disappeared from the hands of a farmer who was working on
the Moat, which led to the discovery of a pipe or shaft, at
the southern extremity of its summit. It was found to be
33 feet deep, of a square form, about two feet broad at the
top, but gradually widening to three feet square at the
bottom. It is built of stone and mortar, which is made of
badly burned lime, containing pieces of charred wood. The
farmers who descended found at the bottom only mud ; the
mouth of this shaft is now closed. There is an entrance to
a, cave 63 yards E.S.E. of, and nearly on a level with the
base of Donegore Moat, but it is now quite blocked up. It
consists of four chambers, each about twelve feet long,
connected by narrow passages, this cave takes a northerly
direction.--' A very fine stone circle, with an avenue of great

* In Wakeman's Handbook of Irish Antiquities, p. 155, there is
given a wood -cut of an urn found at Donegore, which is now in the
Eoyal Irish Academy. It is about 3 \ inches high, and is 5 inches
wide across the broadest portion. It is ornamented all over. The

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 211

stones leading from it, stood in a field, near the summit of
Donegore Hill, until about the year 1834, when it was
totally destroyed. About 200 yards east of its site, a seat,
shaped recess 2 feet wide, 2 feet 5 inches deep, and 2 feet 7
inches high at the back, called " The Priest's Chair," is
formed in a basaltic rock called " The Priests Craig." It is
said that a large slab formed a sort of back for the chair, but
that it was removed to be used in building a neigh-
bouring house. The chair faces the south and commands a
magnificent and extensive view. We could almost imagine
that this was the chair at which the ancient Kings of
Kathmore were inaugurated. On the summit of Donegore
Hill, is a little mound 36 yards in circumference, and at
present only 9 feet high, it seems once to have been conical,
but it is now much mutilated. On the side of this, stand
two large slabs with their faces north and south, they are 3
feet 7 inches apart at their bases, while at the distance of
462 yards E.N.E. is a large Standing Stone, firmly secured
by smaller stones built around its base. The stones on the
summit of Donegore Hill, are due south of a line of Standing
Stones, two miles distant from them on Browndod Hill.

In 1798, the Insurgents encamped for a few days at
Donegore Hill, and then dispersed,, leaving behind them a
number of their field pieces and ether weapons.

In Tobergill, about 150 yards east of the road from
Templepatrick to Connor, are eleven stones, which formed

ornamentation was performed by some narrow tool, pressed obliquely
into the soft clay ; the instrument must have been hollow, or
grooved at the end. This urn was discovered in what has been
termed, in the description sent with ib, a subterraneous cavern, ap-
proached by a narrow passage, beside the Moat of Donegore. It is
said that in connection with it, were found a number of flint arrow
heads, and a stone celt, &c. Wilde's Catal. p. 184

212 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

about one-half of a fine stone circle, which, within memory,
stood there ; the diameter of the circle was 46 feet. .An
avenue, or double row of standing stones, averaging about
3 feet high, and placed close to each other, extended 18
feet E.N.E. from the eastern side of the circle, and a similar
avenue extended 32 feet N.N. W. from its western side, but
all traces of these avenues have now disappeared. Most of
the stones were removed to form a fence for the farmer in
whose ground they stood, and one was made his tombstone.
A MS. account of Pagan antiquities in this parish, written
by S. M'Skimin, says : " Near the Four Mile Burn, a little
to the left of the road leading to Antrim, is Fairy Mount.
On this is a circle of stones, sixty yards in circumference,
consisting, at present, of 21 large stones ; there are three
large stones within the circle, so placed as to form a kind of
rude chain. There were, probably, formerly many more
stones in the circle, as some grey mossy heads are to be seen
in the adjoining ditch, and several that were in the circle
have evidently been cast down from their position. The
average height of those standing is about 5 feet. At th&
distance of a few perches to the east there is the base of an
ancient cairn, in which, in 1824, an earthen urn was found.
In the same field several caves have been found ; the roofs
of some of them were arched with small stones."

In the townland of Bally wee there is a great fort, in the
ramparts and body of which is a ramification of galleries, or
caves, built with stones and roofed with great flat stones
Towards the end of last century, a ditch of great depth and
width surrounded the fort, but it has disappeared. About
1828 an attempt was made to subject a part of the fort to
tillage, but a domestic affliction which befell the farmer
averted the destruction of the rath.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 213

A cairn formerly stood on a conical hill in the townland
of Drurnagorgan ; it, however, has long since been removed.
On the south side of the hill, and 130 yards from the Cairn,
lies a large stone, supposed to have been the top-stone of a
cromleach ; it is now called the " Giant's Grave." There is
a cave in Ballynoe. — Ord. Sitrv. M.S.

In the western side of the townland of Rath beg, and close
to the stream which bounds it, is the site of the ancient rath
which gives name to the townland. It is celebrated as the
scene of the murder of Diarmid Mac Cearbhall (pron. Karwill),
King of Ireland. The Four Masters record this event under
the year 558 : — "After Diarrnaid, the son of Fearghus Cerr-
bheoil, had been twenty years in the sovereignty over
Ireland, he was slain by Aedh Dubh, son of Suibhne
(Sweeney), King of Dalaraidhe, at Rathbegg, in Magh-Line.
His head was brought to Cluain-inic-Nois, and interred there,
-and his body was interred at Connor." This king, who
belonged to the branch of the Heremonian royal family
called the Southern Hy-Niall, was remarkable for his pious
munificence ; he conferred the site of Clonmacnois on St.
Ciaran, and laid its foundation stone; and he gave Kells to
St. Columbkille. He waged war on the King of Connaught,
on account of a heifer stolen from a poor widow, and he is said
to have put his own son to death for a similar offence. But
his love of justice was counterbalanced by crimes, which drew
on him the maledictions of St. Columbkille and St. Ruadhan.
He was the last monarch who resided in the palace of Tara.
The royal mensal lands of Tara were partitioned out among
his descendants, and subsequent monarchs selected their
residences wherever they pleased. It is somewhat remark-
able that King Tuathal, who severed Meath from the four
provincial kingdoms, to be the mensal state of the monarchs,

214 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

perished in Ballygowan, and his descendant, King Diarmid,
who was the last monarch who enjoyed it, perished in the same
district. Diarmid killed Suibhne, the father of Aedh Dubh,
and strove to atone for this deed by rearing Aedh Dubh as his
foster son ; but no kindness could erase an injury from such
a mind as that of Aedh (pron. Ee) ; and after many years,
when King Diarmid, in his royal visitation, arrived at the
house of JBanuan, a chieftain who resided at the rath of Rath-
beg, Aedh imbrued his hands in his sovereign's blood. The
author of Cambrensis Eversus thus relates the circumstance :
"While he (Diarmaid), was sojourning with Banuan, in
Rathbegg, of Ma gh line, discovering the house to be in
flames, he rushed out through the door ; but he was pierced
through with a spear by Aedh, the Black, Prince of Dalaradia,
who had formerly been his foster-son. Returning into the
house, he plunged into a large vessel of water to save himself
from the flames, but one of the falling rafters crushed him
to death, in the twentieth year of his reign." The attendants
of the murdered king, being unable to carry his dead body
to his loved Clonmacnoise, carried his head to that
cemetery, and interred his body in Connor, the principal
church of the district where he fell. The murderer was one
of the blackest characters of the troubled times, in which he
lived. He was elected King of Dalaradia, in 565 ; but some
time afterwards he became desirous of becoming a priest-
and he accompanied Findichan, the founder of the monastery
of Artchain, in the Island of Tiree, to that religious house,
This portion of his history is told by Adamnan, in his Life
of St. Columbkille.

" At another time, Findchan, the priest named above, a soldier of
Christ, brought with him from Ireland to Britain, Aedh, surnamed
Dubh (black), descended of a royal family of the Dalaradian tribe.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 215

Aedh wore the clerical habit and intended to reside in the monastery
for some years, although he had often stained his hands in human
blood, and cruelly murdered many persons, amongst others, Diarmid
MacCerbhall, God's appointed King of all Ireland. After spending
some time abroad, he was ordained priest uncanonically* in the pre-
sence of Findchan, by a bishop invited for the purpose. The bishop,
however, did not venture to impose hands until Findchan, who was
greatly attached to Aedh, placed his right hand on his head as a
mark of approval. When the ordination became known to the Saint
(Columbkille), being much grieved, he pronounced this fearful
sentence on Findchan and on Aedh, "That right hand, which
against the laws of God and the Church, Findchan placed on the
head of the son of perdition, shall soon be covered with sores, and
after much torture, shall precede himself to the grave, and he shall
survive the buried hand for man}' years. But Aedh, thus unlawfully
ordained, shall return as a dog to his vomit (Prov. xxvi. 11.) and he
shall be again a bloody murderer, until at length pierced in the neck
with a spear, he shall fall from a tree into the water and be
drowned." Such, indeed, was the tragic end due to him who
murdered the King of all Ireland. The Saint's prophecy was fulfilled
regarding both, for the right hand of the Priest, Findchan, festered
from a blow, and was buried in an Island called Ammon, and he himself
survived for many years. But Aedh Dubh, a priest only in name,t
indulging again in his former excesses, and being treacherously
wounded with a spear, fell from a raft into the lake (perhaps Lough
Neagh), and was drowned. "

Dr. Reeves in the notes to Adamnan, has given an
extract from an ancient Life of King Dermaid, preserved in
the MS. H. 2. 16, Trinity College, Dublin, in which his
future assassin is introduced at an early stage of his history,
and a reason assigned for the vindictive feelings he
entertained.

" It was he (St. Bee MacDe), that said to Dermaid Mac-
Cerbhaill at Tara, at a time that the panegyrists were praising the
king, and his peaceful reign and accomplishments. Aedh Dubh, son
of Suibhne, King of Dalaraidhe, was before Bee, and it was Dermaid

*(Non recte) — un canon ically. Wilful murder is a crime, which causes irregularity.
t The ordination was valid. He was a priest, but only in name, because he
wanted the virtues becoming that high office.

216 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

who killed that Suibhne. And Dermaid then took his son in
fosterage, namely Aedh Dubh, son of Suibhne, and Bee said,

I see the snarling hound

That will destroy the happy peace. "

"0 Bee, what hound?" said Aedh. "A dog that desires ; and it
is thou," said Bee. "What is it, pray?" said Dermaid. "It is
this hand alone of Aedh Dubh," said Bee, " shall convey the draught
of death to your lips, in the house of Banban, the knight; and a
shirt of one pod upon you, and a cloak of one sheep upon you, and
the ale of one grain in your cup, and the fat of a pig that was never
born, on your table. And it is the ochtach (i. e. ridge-tree) of the house
in which you are, shall fall on your head, after that you have been
transfixed by your enemies." " Let Aedh Dubh be killed," said
all." " Not so ;" said Dermaid, " but he shall be sent out of Erin,
however ; and he shall not return to it while I am alive." Aedh
Dubh then was sent into the country of Alba, in banishment, by
Dermaid, and he was not allowed into Erin after that during Der-
maid's reign."

It is probable that Aedh the Black slew the king in Rath-
beg before he came to his own residence in Rathinore, fearing,
wicked as he was, to violate the sacred laws of hospitality.
The water into which the king plunged, when he found the
house in flames and surrounded by his enemies, was, no doubt,
the stream which still washes the side of the rath.* Leaving
Rathbeg, and crossing by the footstick which spans the burn
at the old ford we enter the townland of Rathmor, belonging
to the Grange of Nilteen.

The Great Rath (for such is the translation of Rathmore)
which gives name to the townland, was the royal residence
of the kings of Dalaradia; it is situate close to the road leading
from Parkgate to Antrim. There is, however, nothing re-
markable in its fortifications or size to distinguish it from
many similar raths throughout the country, or to indicate

* There are, in many of the raths, caves which served as places of
escape in such cases of emergency.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 217

its former importance. It commands a magnificent and
extensive view of the south-western portions of the County
of Antrim, and parts of those of Down, Tyrone, Armagh,
and Deny. The form of the fort is oval, its extreme major
diameter being 161, and its minor diameter 129 feet. It is
elevated above the adjacent ground 16 feet at its eastern
extremity, and 12 feet at its western. A parapet of clay
extends round its summit, varying in height from 3 to 6
feet. A mound seems, from the breadth of the parapet, to
have once occupied its eastern end, but it is now almost
wholly removed. In the construction of the fort, advantage
seems to have been taken of a basaltic hummock, on which
clay was heaped, and its formation was thereby considerably
facilitated. Its entrance was by a passage 10 feet wide at
the western side. Underneath the ascent to the fort is the
entrance to an artificial cave, excavated in the rock, and
extending under the fort in an easterly direction 428 feet »
the mouth of the cave is 5 feet wide and 5 feet 6 inches
high. At first it descends about 4 feet, but afterwards
pursues a more level line, alternately rising and descending.
Great difficulty is found in creeping through the passages
that connect the chambers into which it occasionally expands.
Its extreme height does not exceed 9 feet, and its breadth
15 feet ; but both are very variable. In the bottom of the
cave, near its mouth, is a spring which forms a well, about
1 foot deep. — See Oral. Mem. MS. The Book of Leinster, a
manuscript compiled about the middle of the 12th century,
which is now preserved in the Library of Trinity College,
Dublin, contains a tract, called the Dinsenchas, a legendary
account of the principal places of historical importance in
Ireland. This tract is said to have been compiled by Amargein
Mac Amalgada (Mac Aula), a poet of the King Diarmaid, who

218 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

was murdered in Rathbeg. In this tract we are told that
the old name of Rathmor was Rath-Rogin, and that it was
called Rathmor, Mov's Rath, in commemoration of the death
of Mor. The translation of the legend is given by Dr.
Reeves, from the Book of Ballymote —

'"Bath-Mor of Magh-Lini was first called Eath-Eogin, until
the reign of Breapal Breac, son of Bryan, King of Uladh.
He went on an expedition under Loch Laidh (Belfast Lough),
and remained there fifty years. Mor, daughter of Eithir, son
of Geai'lamh, his wife, remained all that time in that rath, and
at last she said, "I think Breasal's absence too long!" and a certain
woman said to her, " it will be long to thee indeed, for Breasal will
never come back to his friends until the dead come back to theirs. "
Mor then died suddenly, and her name remained on the Eath ; mule
Rathmor dicitur. Breasal soon after returned to his house one
evening, as is related in Breasal's Expedition.'' "

Tighernach refers to this legend in his Annals. A.D.
161," Breasal, the son of Brian, reigns in Eamania nineteen
years, his spouse, Mor, died of grief; from her Rathmor in
Moylinny is named."

When the power of the old dominant race of Ulster, the
Clanna Rury, the descendants of Ir. who were also named
the Cruithne or Irish Picts, was broken by the disastrous
battle in 332 ; they were forced to leave for ever the ancient
seat of their power in the vicinity of Armagh, and both they
and their allies, the descendants of the Heremonian Fiatach
Fin, were driven to the east of the Bann. The richest
portions of the modern Count\T of Down, by degrees, passed
into the possession of the Dal-Fiatach ; and the Clanna Rury
became principally located along the Six Mile Water, having
for their royal residence Rathmor. It was here that
Fiachna, son of Baedan dwelt, who slew, in 592, Aedh
Dubh, so often mentioned, and who succeeded him in
Throne of Ulidia. We are told in ancient Life of St.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 219

Comgall, printed in "Fleming's Collectanea," that Canti-
gern, the wife of this king, who lived in a place called
Atrium Magnum Scotice (in Irish), Rathmor, had taken
poison, and the prayers of St. Comgall saved her life. This
Fiachna had a stormy life, The Four Masters relate, that, in
the year 571, he defeated the people of Ossory, at Tulla, in
the King's County; in 590, he won the Battle Edan-mor, in
the north of Meath ; in 592, he slew Aedh Dubh ; in 593,
he defeated the people of Munster, at Slieve Gua, in the
County of Waterford ; in 597, he defeated Fiachna, the
King of the Dal-Fiatach of the Co. Down, in the battle of
Cuil-Cael ; in 618, he burned Eathguala, supposed to be
Rathgaile, near Bangor ; and in 622, he was killed by his old
enemy Fiachna, the Dal-Fiatach prince, in the Battle of
Lethed-Midinn, thought to be knocklayd. In 684, Rath-
more was the scene of a great battle against the Saxons, in
which the Irish were successful, but many of them fell.
The illustrious Saint Bede says of that invasion. " In the
year of our Lord's incarnation, in 684, Ecgfrid,* King of

* Ecgfrid waged this cruel war on the Irish, because his brother
Alfrid found in it a refuge from his persecutions. This Alfrid, who
succeeded him on the Northumbrian throne, was, through his mother,
the sixth in descent from Owen, the son of Niall of the Hostages.
When he was an exile in Ireland he composed a poem of twenty-four
verses, on the state of Ireland. Of some of which the following is a
literal translation, by Dr. O'Donovan. — See Dublin Penny Journal,
Vol. I.

I found in each province,

Of the five provinces of Ireland,
Both in Church and in State,
Much of food, much of raiment.

I found gold and silver,

I found honey and wheat,
I found affection with the people of God.

I found banquets, and cities.

220 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the Northumbrians, sending Beret, his general, with an
army into Ireland, miserably wasted that harmless nation,
which had always been most friendly to the English ;
insomuch that the hands of the enemy spared not even the
churches or the monasteries. Those islanders, to the utmost

I found in Armagh, the splendid,

Meekness, wisdom, circumspection,
Fasting in obedience to the Son of God,

Noble, prosperous sages.

I found in the fair surfaced Leinster,

1 rom Dublin to Slewmargy,
Long-living men, health, prosperity,

Bravery, hardihood and traffic.

I found in Munster, without prohibition,

Kings, queens, and royal bards,
In every species of poetry, well skilled ;

Happiness, comfort, pleasure.

I found in Conaght, famed for justice,

Affluence, milk in full abundance,
Hospitality, lasting vigour, fame,

In this territory of Croghan of heroes.

I found in the country of Connall (Donegal),

Brave victorious heroes,
Fierce men of fair complexion,

The high stars of Ireland.

I found in the province of Ulster,

Long-blooming beauty — hereditary vigour,

Young scions of energy,

Though fair, yet fit for war and brave.

I found in the great fortress of Meath,

Valour, hospitality and truth,
Bravery, purity, and mirth,

The protection of all Ireland.

I found the aged of strict morals ;

The historians recording truth ;
Each good, each benefit that I have sung,

In Ireland I have seen.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 221

of their power, repelled force by force." The Four Master sy
who, incorrectly, enter this battle, under the year 680,
record — "The Battle of Bathmor-Maighe-Line (was
gained) over the Britons, wherein were slain Cathsach,
son of Maelduin, chief of the Ouithne (Dalaradians),
and Ultan, son of MacDicolla." The Bath of
Bathmore seems to have been the site of a habitation, or
perhaps the centre of a village, so late as the year
1315. The Annals of Connaught record at that year.
" Edward, son of Bobert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, came to
Ireland, on the land of Ulster, in the North — a fleet of 300
ships, his number ; so that the heroes of valour and fight of
all Ireland, in general, both Gall and Gael, shook and
trembled. And he soon plundered the best part of Ulster ;
and he burned Bath-mor of Moylinny, and Dundalk." The
field to the west of the Bath is still called Castle Field,
from a castle erected by the English, which Bruce destroyed
The territory, Magh-line (Moylinny), with which Bathmore
is generally associated, in order to distinguish it from many
other places of the same name, was more extensive
than the tuor/h, or territory, set forth in the Antrim Inquisi-
tion of 1605, which was coterminous with the modern
barony of Upper Antrim. It probably included also the
tuogh of Ballylinny, as set forth in that Inquisition, viz.,
the present civil parishes of Templepatrick, Ballylinny, and
Ballymartin. Some of the references to this territory con-
tained in the Book of Rights are very curious. The King
of Uladh — Ulster, or, after the 4th century, Down and
Antrim — was prohibited to go to "the horse-fair of Bath-
Line (Bathmor), among the youths of Dal-Araidhe." — The
word used is Eachrais, which is translated both a " horse-
fair " and a " horse-race." This prohibition seems to imply,

322 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

that it would have been unlucky for him to have gone to
the race, or horse-fair, at Rathmor. The Book of Rights —
Leabhar na g-ceart — purports to have been drawn up by
St. Benen, a disciple of St. Patrick, but its own internal
evidence proves it to be, at least in its present form, much
less ancient. It treats of the rights of each of the kings and
of the revenues payable to them from the inferior kings, and
of the stipends paid by the superior kings to their subsidiary
chiefs. For not only was the superior king entitled to an
impost to be paid by the minor king, but that minor king
was entitled to receive from his superior a present, which,
probably, voluntary at first, became in process of time a
legalized right.

" The Privileges of the King of Uladh (Ula).
"The King of Fladh, when he himself is not the King of Eire, is en-
titled to he by the side of the King of Eire, and he is to hold the
hrst place in his confidence and society while he is along with the
King of Eire. And svhen he is departing he obtains fifty swords
and fifty steeds, and fifty cloaks, and fifty cowls and scings (a portion
of horse trappings), and fifty coats of mail, and thirty rings, and ten
greyhounds and ten matals (a kind of cloak), and ten drinking-horns,
and ten ships, and twenty handfuls of leeks, and twenty sea-gulls'
eggs. All these are given to the King of Uladh, every third year
from the King of Eire."

Tt is obvious that these high honours and costly presents
were intended for the King of Uladh when his kingdom
extended over all Ulster, and not for him in his altered state
when his sway was confined to the territory east of the Bann.
The King of Uladh was then bound, after he received these
presents, to distribute stipends among his sub-kings. To
the King of Dalaradia, whose territory seems to have
extended, at the time the tract was written, from the
Belfast mountains to the confines of Dalrieda, was given,

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 223

"Twenty drinking-horns, and twenty swords, and twenty grey-
hounds, and twenty bondsmen, and twenty steeds, and twenty
cloaks, and twenty matals, and twenty cumhals (coowals — three
cows), from the King of Uladh to the King of Dal-Araidhe (Dal
Aray)."

The King of Uladh, by the same code, was entitled to re-
ceive from the various territories within his kingdom certain
refections and fixed tributes.

" First on the great region of Magh-Line, his first refection —
three hundred beeves and three hundred cloaks from Line."

The King of Ulster was, according to another tract contained
in the Book of Eights, to provide for the King of Ireland a
great banquet every seventh year, which was to be given to
the monarch, at a place on the borders of Ulster, after which
the King of Ulster was to accompany the monarch to Tara,
where he was to be sumptuously entertained and to receive
many stated presents. The King, after resting from his
journey, was bound to distribute stipends to the sub-kings
who accompanied him.

" To the King of Rath-Mor-Muigh is due great and kingly wealth ;
for he is the noblest on the journey, and the first who receives his
stipend. Entitled is he, unless he be himself the king over the men
of Uladh, to eight coloured cloaks, and two ships, with a bright
shield on each shoulder, to a chess-board and white chess-men, eight
drinking-horns, and eight cups, eight greyhounds, and eight steeds,
and eight lances."

It was customary, according to ancient Irish polity, for the
monarchs to make frequent regal visitations to the territories
and royal residences of their sub-kings, for the purpose of
obtaining hostages and exacting their own rights. We are told
in the MS. ' Life of King Diarmaid," that when he was killed
at Rathbeg, he was " upon a royal visitation, right-handwise,
of Erin." In the year 940, Niall Glundubh, a king of the
Kinel-Owen, from whom the O'Neill's are named, selected a

224 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

thousand chosen men and " made a circuit of Ireland, keep-
ing his left hand to the sea." His bard sings —

" We were a night at Oenach-Cross,
(Not more delightful to be in Paradise)
We brought Loinseach of Line
From that land of promise."

Oenach-Cross is near Bally money, and the next halting-place
mentioned is Dun-Eachach, now Duneight, near Lisburn.
It would therefore seem probable that Niall's forces made
an intermediate stage at Rathmore, where they seized Loing-
seach, the chief of Maghlinne, or Dalaradia ; for Oenach-
Cross was in Dalrieda, and consequently outside Loingseach's
territory. The Dublin version of the Annals of Ulster t
record, under the year 1004, a march which Brian Boroimhe
(Borive)* made from Armagh, for the very same purpose.

" Brian set out thence to Rath-mor, in Moy-line, until he carried
away the hostages of Dalaradia with him."

This is the last time an Irish monarch visited Rathmore.
The ancient native lords of the district were named
O'Leathlobhar, and O'Loingsigh, both descended from
Eiacha Araidhe, the progenitor of the Dalaraidhe, the form er
name would now be O'Lawlor, but none of that name is
now to be found in Ulster, the latter name is now Linchey,
Lynch, and MacLinchey, and is to be found scattered
principally through the north western counties of Ulster.
The O'Flynns ; a Heremonian family, made inroads on their
territory, and eventually established themselves in it. The
Annals record the death of one of them in 1158, who had
been so successful in his incursions, that he was styled Lord
of Dalaradia. " Cuuladh, son of Deoradh O'FJinn, lord of
Hy-Tuirtre and Dal Aradia, died." Soon after the English

* He is commonly called Brian Boru.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 225

Invasion, the followers of De Courcy settled themselves in
it, and received grants of parcels of it from the Earls of
Ulster. In 1347, Edward III. confirmed to Robert Savage
the manors of Rathmore, Duntorsy, Balencan, and Donaghty.
The townland of Ballysavage in the vicinity, testifies to the
former importance of that name in the district. The success
of the Kinel-Owen invasion, enabled the O'Neills to make
themselves masters of the territory, which they held until
the Crown conferred it on the Chichester family, under
whose deeds it is at present held. In the Taxation of Pope
Nicholas, "the Church of Rathmore " is valued at 2 marks.
The field, which is a few yards to the west of the fort, is
called " Castle Field," which, doubtless, was the site of a
castle, erected by the early English Invaders. That castle
we have seen, was burned by Edward Bruce, in the year
1315. Tradition states that a castle and a church stood in
that field ; and, within memory, foundations of walls of
exceeding strength and thickness stood in it, and quantities
of human bones and some silver coins were dug up about
them. The " Capella de Rathmore " was confirmed to the
Priory of Muckamore about the year 1251 — Registry of
Muckamore. The church must have disappeared at an early
date, as no record of it occurs in the Terrier.

The Taxation of Pope Nicholas values, w the Church of
Drumnedergal " at 12 marks. This name has disappeared
in modern times, though it occurs some times in ancient
documents. The Registry of Muckamore mentions, that
Isaac, Bishop of Connor (a.d. 1245 to 1256), confirmed the
" Ecclesia de See. Marie de Dunedergel, to the Priory of
Muckamore;" and an Inquisition, taken at Antrim in 1333
found that William de Burgo, among other possessions in
the " Comitatus Antrum," was seized of the Manor of

226 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Drumnedergalle, wherein were no buildings, save an
old castle which had been overthrown since the war
of the Scotch. Dr. Reeves supposes that this name
had gradually changed into Dunadry, the name of a
townland in the Grange of Nilteen. " Here, a little
to the left of the new road from Antrim to Belfast,
stood a large earn, which was removed a few years ago; and
between it and the road, on a site now converted into a garden,
were the ruins of a chapel." The road which leads from
Dunaghy to Rathmore, just as it leaves the new road from
Belfast to Antrim, passes through the site of the cemetery.
A funereal mound stood N.E. of the church. It was found
that the " Capella de Neeltin was appropriate to Muckamore
Priorv. — Inq. Antrim MS. (Eccl. Antiq.). This supposition
seems probable. Drumnedergal (Druim-eadar-ghabhal — pro-
nounced nearly, Drim-adar-gooal) signifies the ridge or hill
between two (river) prongs. — Irish Names. Joyce. It would
very accurately describe the situation of Dunadry between
the fork of the Six Mile Water and Rathmore Burn. The
earn, or tumulus, is described in 1839, by James Boyle, in
the Ordnance Memoir, a few months after its destruction.
It was commonly called, " Dunadry Forth," and stood
within a hundred yards to the north of the hamlet. The dimen-
sions of the tumulus in its perfect state were 151 feet in
diameter at the base, and 32 feet at the summit, while the
height was 26 feet. It was entirely composed of stones,
except an external coating, about 4 feet in depth, of rich
earth, which covered its summit and sides. The stones were
well fitted and an even face, or batter, preserved all round.
The foundations of the tumulus were sunk to a depth of 5
or 6 feet below the adjacent ground, and consisted of three
circles of large stones carefully placed ; between these the

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 227

other stones of less magnitude were indiscriminately thrown.
The inner of these circles was thirty-two feet in diameter,
the second 90 feet ; and the outer, which formed the ex-
terior of the stonework was 143 feet in diameter. The stones
in this circle would have weighed from 5 cwt. to two or
three tons each. The stones diminished in size as they
approached the summit, where, in the exterior rim, they were
from 30 to GO lbs. The mould forming the coating contained
a large quantity of charred wood, in pieces, at times, of the size
of a goose egg, but generally of the size of small gravel. On the
summit of the tumulus there had been a circular hearth, 15
feet in diameter, formed of a pavement of stones ; this was
covered with mould and ashes. This hearth occupied the
centre of the summit ; equidistant from this and the exterior
of the summit, was a circle of very small hearths of similar
construction, from about which three cart loads of ashes
were taken. On the east side of the tumulus, and about 3£
feet from the summit, a skeleton was discovered, lying in
the mould, with its head to the north. The bones, with the
exception of the thigh bones and the skull, which are said to
have been of unusually large size, had almost totally
mouldered away. " At the head of the skeleton there
was a large, square, undressed stone, and near it, on its
west side, was a stone urn, which contained some
greasy ashes, and near it a portion of a ring about two
inches in diameter, and formed of some black substance,
resembling wood coal, but finely polished." At the centre
of the base of the tumulus, j a grave bearing north and
south was discovered, it measured internally 3| feet long,
2 feet 10 inches broad, andj 2 feet deep. The sides
were formed of undressed field-stones, carefully laid, but
without mortar. Its floor was of earth. Near the southern

228 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

end of the grave, was a circular hole, 8 inches in diameter,
and 8 inches deep, in it were fragments of bones and some
ashes of charred wood. " A fine grained, smooth, and well
faced slab of whinstone, measuring about 4 feet by 3 feet 2
inches, and 8 inches thick, formed the covering of the
grave. . . . Over the urn was a copper convex lid, just
sufficient to cover the hollow, it crumbled away when it was
exposed to the air. The sides of the urn were sticky and
greasy, as if smeared with oil. At a distance of from 60
to 100 feet from the tumulus, are five enormous stones,
which seemed to have formed a portion of a circle enclosing
it, two have lately been sunk, and, it is said, others have
been sunk within memory." Mr. J. Huband Smith, on the
24th of May, 1852, exhibited to the Eoyal Irish Academy,
the stone urn and a glass ring found in the tumulus. He
explained that the farmer on whose grounds the tumulus
was, observing a rich black loamy soil, determined to remove
it. " In doing so, he came to the cairn, in which he dis-
covered, at the depth of three feet from the surface, on the
eastern side, and lying horizontally, a human skeleton,
having on its hand a ring of lignite, and at the feet, the
stone urn and a little glass ring. The urn was distinguished
from those found hitherto, by having handles at the sides
and a brass cover on the top. The mound was exceedingly
large, and is now entirely effaced." Proceedings R.I. A.
Vol. V. The urn, which was probably a food vessel,
intended to hold the food which the relatives of the
deceased supposed he would require in the unknown world,
is numbered 38 in Wilde's Catal, where it is described as
formed of stone, and having handles which proceed from
the bottom and which probably met over the top. It is
8 inches across and 4 inches in height ; the arms, however,

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 229

spread to about 13| inches. The glass ring is num-
bered 115, and the lignite, or jet ring, is numbered 116,
in the collection of the Royal Irish Academy. It is
not improbable Dunadry is the place, named Dun-na-h-
Uidhre, in the territory of the Hy-Tuirtre, from which,
according to the Book of Bights, the King of the Kinel-Owen
was entitled to a tribute. Colgan places the Church of
Kilbride, which is not far distant, in the territory of Hy-
Tuirtre. As this people were subject to the sway of the
King of the Kinel-Owen when they dwelt on the west of
the Bann, it is probable that he continued to levy taxes
from them after they had subjugated portions of what now
forms the County of Antrim. The Book of Rights records
his rights in these words : —

14 A hundred milch cows from the Tuathas of Tort (the districts
of the Hy-Turtre), fifty tinnes (pigs made into bacon), fifty hogs,
with fifty coloured cloaks (are given) to him from Dun-na-h-Uidhre
in one day."

Dr. O'Donovan says that there is no place named Dun-na-h-
Uidhre in the country of the Hy-Tuirtre. If it be Dunadry,
it shows that that portion of the Book of Bights which contains
that entry, must have been written a very few years before the
English invasion. In 1649 there was a slight engagement
in Dunadry, which terminated in the death of Owen O'Con-
nally, who betrayed to Parsons the Irish rebellion of 1641.
The account of the battle is thus told in the History of the
War, by a British officer : —

" Collonel O'Connally came over with Crumwell, and was to raise
a Regiment at Antrim, forthwith (if he lived), where daily he got
Allarums of Colonel Hamilton and his small party of horse, to be up
and down the quarters next adjacent. On which Connally went to
Belfast and got, from Colonel Venables, two Troops, consisting o*

230 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

about Eighty Horse, under command of one, Captain Reaper, and
Captain Lestrange, who, on their march, coming by those Hills from
Cool, perceived Hamilton and his party near Dunadry, north east of
the Bridge, on which they made haste, swearing nothing but that
they would not face them. And so they advanced to them, Collonel
O'Connally in the head of the Forlorn, who charged up a Lane, being
so narrow, they could not draw above half a dozen in a Breast, and
the other drawn so behind a Killn, that Connally could not see them
till he had his Flank to their Front, and so he charged them hotly,
and Hamilton charged them in their Flank, so close, that he put
them to disorder, and retire, and kept in so close amongst them, and
those before Connally, of his own party, so close to him, that they
fell confusedly on one another, that they could not rally or would
not, till all took the real Route. And so most of them were killed
with Captain Reaper ; and Connally was taken prisoner, and got
quarters, and a Guard put on him, to send him to Coleraine. But
he prevented them, for, being suffered to be on his own Fleet Mare,
as they thought he was safe, for the horseman kept next to him, the
rest of the Guard being at some distance, he gave him a leg and
struck him backwards with his hand and tossed him off his Horse ;
on which he would be away, but there being one on the Guard had
an Eye after him, being well mounted and named Hamilton, whose
Brother, Connally upon a sudden falling out at Lisnegarvy, the year
before, went into the Backside to decide the matter, after the first
or second pass, killed him, whose name was Captain Hamilton, of
Sir James Montgomerie's Regiment — which his Brother revenged,
and Killed him, which, by the Law of Arms, he might do, in regard
he broke his quarters. Then Connally's body was carried like a sack
on a horse to Connor that night, and next day was sent for and
interred at Antrim."

The early history of this man, is told in Adair's
Narrative.

" It is worthy of observation, that this Owen O'Connolly was at
first a poor Irish boy, admitted into the family of Sir Hugh
Clotworthy, at Antrim, a religious and worthy family ; and there
was educated and taught not only the principles of the Protestant
religion, but through the blessing of God upon that education, and
the power of the Gospel in the Parish of Antrim, he became truly
religious in heart and conscience, bound to the truth, and to those
who were truly godly.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 231

After Sir Hugh Clotwortby's death, O'Connolly continued
in the service of Sir John, until the year 1639, when he
removed to Moneymore, where James Clotworthy, brother
of Sir John, resided. O'Connolly's change of religion was
not known outside Antrim Castle, and MacMahon, grand-
son of Hugh, Earl of Tyrone, supposing him to be a
Catholic, confided to him the secret of the intended rising.
O'Connolly immediately informed the Lords Justices, who
secured Dublin Castle. The first intelligence of the rebellion
reached the English Parliament, on the 1st of November,
1641. O'Connolly was examined and a reward of £500
was voted to him for informing, and he shortly afterwards
obtained a company in the regiment which Sir John
Clotworthy raised.

What befel the family of O'Connolly subsequent to his
death is thus told in Adair's Narrative : —

" His wife died shortly after and left a son and a daughter — his
son a very idiot unto the greatest height, and the daughter, though
thereafter married to a worthy gentlemen (Mr. Hugh Rowley), yet
proved but more than half a fool, and a burden to her husband for
many years, and without posterity. "

Ecclesia de Maudone follows that of Drumnedergal, in the
Taxation of Pope Nicholas, and is valued at 2 marks. Dr.
Reeves is uncertain what church that may be. There is at
present no townland of the name in the vicinity. The
Inquisitions of 1605 and 1621 fixed a Bally mauden, or
Ballymoyden, among the townlands of the Tuogh of Moy-
linny, but the name has now become obsolete. This church
stood in a field called Kirkland, in the townland of Bally-
ben tragh. The foundations were dug up about 1823, by
John Lawther, who removed quantities of human bones
from the site, and found some silver coins. Bally ben tragh

232 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

adjoins Moyadam, and probably was formerly a part of
that townland. According to the Registry of Muckamore,
Isaac, Bishop of Connor, confirmed the Church of St. Law-
rence, of Maudone, to that priory. An Inquisition on the
estates of William de Burgo, was taken at Maudone in
Ultonia, and Robertus Clericus, de Mokemore, was a juror.
The church, which at best was small, had so completely dis-
appeared before the suppression of monasteries, that its
name does not occur in the Terrier. The church being
small and there being so many other churches in its neigh-
bourhood, which belonged to Muckamore, that monastery
could easily supply its want, and it was consequently
suppressed shortly after it passed into the possession of
Muckamore.

The townland of Moyadam contained many remnants of
remote antiquity ; most of them have disappeared, however,
within the past few years, having been destroyed by the
farmers on whose lands they stood. The Ordnance Memoir
MS. informs us, that, about 100 yards to the right of the
road from Antrim to Bally clare, are two stone circles, the
larger of which is called " the Grey Stones." The circles,
which stand east and west of each other, and are 213 feet
apart, are seated on two of the little knolls which are so
frequent along the Six Mile Water. The eastern circle
is in good preservation, only one of its stones has been re-
moved, and it is placed in the fence of a little grove in which
it stands. When the grove was planted in 1798, several
urns and some human bones were discovered. The circle is.
formed of 19 stones, varying in height from 3 to 6 feet; of
these, 12 retain the upright position ; the remaining 7 have
fallen. They are of a greyish whinstone and are not of the
stones of the neighbourhood. The diameter of the circle,

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 233

from outside to outside, is 42J feet. Near the centre of the
circle is what is called " the Chair f it faces the west, and
is formed of three stones of a different kind from those of the
circle, and seem to have been brought from some neighbour-
ing quarry. The western, or smaller circle, measures 37|
feet in diameter, but as the stones forming it are almost
totally buried under an accumulation of stones gathered off
the farm, it is impossible to give a satisfactory account of it.
The stones forming its circumference seem smaller than
those in the other circle, but they are placed almost con-
tiguous to each other. In the centre is a large stone, but
only a portion of it can be seen. The eastern circle seems
to have been enclosed by another. The position of four of
the stones is marked on a ground plan, prepared by Mr.
Boyle, who wrote the Ordnance Memoir. They stood 49
feet from the centre of the inner circle. They must have
been of very great size ; to use the words of the farmer :
" It took a hole, 7 feet deep, to sink each of them." Two
oblong stones lie on a little knoll, 111 yards east of the
eastern circle ; they measure about 3| feet by 1^ feet. They
occupied an upright position, within memory ; they are now
lying about three feet apart, A stone presenting a tabular
surface lies 72 yards north of these, and within a foot of it
the ends of three others protrude out of the ground ; they
would seem to have been the pillars on which it was sup-
ported, for they seem to have formed a Cromleach. A very
large upright stone, now sunk, formerly stood 51 yards
north of the tabular stone, and 51 yards N.N.W. of that,
stood another, which is now sunk ; it rested on a sort of
paved foundation. The stones last mentioned, seem, from
stories told by the people, to have formed part of the cir-
cumference of a very great circle. The western circle seems

234 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

also to have once been surrounded by an outer circle, as at
a distance of 24 feet from its centre, the greater portion of
a second circle stood within memory.* Within a few yards
of the eastern boundary of the townland there rises from a
foundation of smaller stones a Standing Stone, 6| feet
high, which occupies the summit of a rising ground.
The only rath in the Grange of Nilteen is in Moyadam ;
it is 12 feet high and 96 feet in diameter, surrounded by a
ditch, 12 feet wide. There is not, in the County of Antrim,
a district of similar extent in which so many artificial caves
have been discovered, as in the Grange of Nilteen. Near
the western side of Moyadam they are so numerous and ex-
tensive as to seriously interfere with the cultivation of the
ground. The passages, or rooms, in some of them were
upwards of 6 feet high. The most of these were rooted up
by the farmer, Mr. Ferguson, in order to build fences with
their stones. He also discovered a kiln, for drying corn,
which much resembled, what in County Antrim, is called a
flax kiln, but it was of smaller dimensions. A considerable
quantity of burnt corn was found about the kiln.t About

* It is fortunate that the information contained in the Ordnance
MS., regarding these stone circles is so complete, for both have been
destroyed by Mr. Ferguson, the farmer on whose land they staod.
The western circle was destroyed about 1863, and the eastern circle
in 1879. Not a trace of either can now be seen. What a shame
that there is no law to protect the ancient monuments of the
country !

+ About 45 years ago I heard Frank Fitzsimons and John Doogan,
two old men, describing the mode by which the grain was dried for
the mill of Ballydargin, in the parish of Bright, before the in-
troduction of kiln-tiles. A fire of turf was lighted against a wall
or ditch, branches of trees were placed in a slanting position against
the top of the wall or ditch, over these wheat straw was closely
spread, and upon that a layer of grain was spread, which, when it
was dried by the heat, was carefully brushed down the straw into
a winnowing-sheet, and replaced by a fresh layer of grain.

THE PARISH OP ANTRIM. 235

the centre of Moyadam, within 40 yards of a little bog, a
cave traverses the acclivity of a gravelly knoll. Another
cave extended 27 yards along a similar gravelly knoll, about
1 40 yards east of the former cave, but it has been completely
destroyed. A very large cave has been explored in Longhan-
more, but its entrance is now blocked up.

At Loughanmore, horses ploughing a field, disturbed the
top-stone of a Kistvaen. " Two urns of reddish clay were
discovered, standing on the floor. The largest was about 15
inches in height, but each equally rude, and their sides
scratched with some rough instrument. Through careless-
ness the large urn was broken to pieces, and the other taken
away by some unknown person." — Northern Whig, Dec. 11,
1841.

The line of Standing Stones, which commences at " The
Grey Stone Brae," near Antrim, continues through the
Grange of Nilteen. There are ten of them in it. It is said
that they mark an ancient line of road that led from Antrim,
through Templepatrick, to Carrickfergus.

Ecclesia ville Hugonis de Logan — The church of the town
of Hugh de Logan occurs next in the Taxation of Pope
Nicholas. There is no church or townland of that name;
but, in the civil Parish of Templepatrick, there is a town-
land named Kilmakee, on the south side of the Six Mile
Water, and separated by that river from Dunadry. Pope
Honorius III., 1222, confirmed to the Abbey of St. Mary's
of York, possession of the " Cella de Nedrum cum capella de
Villa Hugonis de Logan." Cotton Coll. xiii. 21 Brit. Mus.,
Dr. Reeves translates Kilmakee — " the church of the son of
Hugh." It is more probable that it is the church of St.
Mochay, Kil-Mochay, who was the founder and Patron
Saint of Nedrum, which is now called the Island of Mahee,

236 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

in the Lough of Strangford. Human bones and other indi-
cations of a cemetery, were found in the middle of a field
which extends from the Six Mile Water to a funereal
mound or cairn. The field is called " Watty's Field." It
is the field marked on the Ordnance Map, Sheet 50, south
of the river, at the part where the word Mile of Six Mile
Water is printed. In the same field, three compartments of
a cave were discovered, when the field was in the possession
of the late Mr. M'Clintock. The cairn is situated 154
yards from the Six Mile Water; its form is circular, its
diameter 73 feet, and its height 6 feet. It is thus formed :
41 large stones are laid lengthwise around its exterior, and
the space within is filled by smaller stones and earth. The
exterior stones, are, with three exceptions, firmly embedded
in the cairn, and merely show their exterior face. A. rath
stood, until a little more than 50 years ago, about 100 yards
east of the cairn, and a few yards further a cave still
exists. — See Ord. Mem. MSS.

Templepatrick Church is not entered, at least under
that name, in the Roll of the Taxation of Pope Nicholas.
It would have been, however, exempt from that taxation,
because it belonged to the Order of St. John, of Jerusalem,
now called the Knights of Malta. They were also formerly
known by the name of the. Hospitallers. These knights
were bound by strict monastic rules, but were not in Holy
Orders. Their principal house in the Diocese of Connor,
was the priory of Templepatrick, which was under the
Preceptory or Commandery of St. John the Baptist, of the
Ardes, or Castlebuoy. The Order was possessed in the
Diocese of Connor, of Rectories of Carncastle, of St. John's,
of Carrickfergus, Ballywalter, and Ballyrashane, together
with extensive possessions in these places, and in Island

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 237

Magee, and other parishes. This church seems to have
been exempt from the usual diocesan taxes. It is not
mentioned in the Terrier, nor in the Visitation of. 1622,
King James I., granted by letters patent, dated, 14th day of
February, in the third year of his reign, the whole of the
Tuogh or territory of Ballylinny, to Sir James Hamilton, in
the Lower Clandeboys at the rent af 63/6. He also granted
at the same time, two parts of the tithes and alterages of
the impropriate Rectories of Templeton, or Templepatrick,
and Molusk, at the rent of 15/-, which grants were trans-
ferred on the 10th day of April, in the following year, to
Sir Arthur Chichester, Lord Deputy, for whom Hamilton had
taken them in trust. The church stood in the graveyard,
but not a trace of it now remains. There was once a holy
well at Templepatrick, about which many traditions are
handed down among the Presbyterian inhabitants. This
well was near where the old lime kiln stood, adjoining the
rere wall of the Constabulary barracks. When the bed of
the river was blasted for limestone, about 1812, several
fissures were made, and the well gradually disappeared. It
is probable that the fortified residence of the Knights Hos-
pitallers stood on the site of the Castle. Sir Arthur
Chichester, in the loth year of the reign of James I., granted
to Sir Humphrey Norton the lands of Templepatrick,
Cloughanduffe, and Kilmakee, at the yearly rent of <£16 10s,
and a herriot of two fat oxen and other duties. Norton and
three of his brothers were officers in the army which Queen
Elizabeth sent into the North of Ireland. He built a castle
at Templepatrick, which he called Castle Norton. " His
daughter marrying a Serjeant O'Lynn, he sold off this pro-
perty to Henry Upton, a captain in the army, from which
his descendant, Lord Templeton, now draws upwards of

238 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

,£2,000 per annum." — MS., quoted by M'Skimin. This
Henry Upton was a captain in the army of Essex; he
married a daughter of Sir Hugh Clotworthy ; his great
grandson, Clotworthy Upton, was created, in 1776, Baron
Templeton ; and the son of the first baron was created a
Viscount in 1806. The family changed the name of the
castle into that of Castle Upton.*

There is in the townland of Templepatrick, and a little
to the south of the village, an artificial cave, excavated in
a soft decomposed rock of basalt. Its mouth, which is 4|
.feet wide and 2 feet high, is in the face of the rock. The
cave extends 27 feet, gradually increasing to 7 feet in width,
and to 4 feet 9 inches in height ; and at its south-western
extremity it has another chamber. The side-walls and roof
of the cave are rudely cut ; the latter is elliptical. An arti-
ficial cave of great extent, and branching into several cham-
bers, is in CloughandutT, but for many years the approach

* The following incident, connected with the war of 1641, is told
by the officer of Sir John Clotworthy's regiment, who wrote the
History of the War of Ireland, from it, it would seem that at
that period many of the Irish or Catholics resided in the neighbour-
hood of Templepatrick: — "I remember about Christmas, that
Winter of the Warrs, there came to us, at Antrim, with their
Captain, one Lindsay, a civil man, who loved no murder out of . .
the number cf about forty horsemen as a Troop, and had a horn for
a trumpet, all formerly living about Tullahoge, who left their
wives and children with their goods with the enemy, who all con-
cluded they were all destroyed, and in revenge they could not
endure to see any Irishman, but they must beat him to destroy him.
So one night they left Antrim, their garrison, unknown to all their
officers but their own Lieutenant, Barnet Lindsay, and fell on Mr.
Upton's tenants, a gentleman who hated to see or hear innocent
blood drawn, and would save them if he could, but was then in
Carrickfergus ; and they murdered about eighty persons, men,
women, and children, near Templepatrick ; at which other Scots
took example, and did the like at Island Magee. "

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 239

to it is closed up. There was found in this townland, about
1830, a large brass (bronze 1) ring with two smaller ones
attached to it. A stone cup, about the size of a breakfast
cup, which had two handles attached to it, was found at the
same time and place. They were deposited in the British
Museum by Lord Templeton. In the townland of Ricka-
more, along the Claddy River, there is an overturned
Standing Stone, 10 feet 6 inches long, 3 feet 2 inches high,
and 3 feet 3 inches broad. This townland is crossed by a
very ancient road, called " The Priest's Causeway." It is
said to have led, by a singularly circuitous direction, from
Kilmakee to the Church of Umgall. In the centre of the
road there is a double row of very large and closely laid flat
stones ; on each side of this is a strip of pavement, about 3
feet wide, of much smaller stones, very carefully laid.
These are secured by a single row of very large and closely
laid stones, extending along the edge of the road. The
extreme breadth of the road is 9 feet. Both this road and
a similar one in its vicinity were used as bridle paths within
the memory of persons not long dead, but only portions of
them now exist. The other ancient road was called " the
Irish Highway," and is said to have been the public
road from Derry to Belfast ; it passed through Dunadry
and wound under the western side of Lyle's Hill,
and thence through the Grange of Umgall, from which it
struck off south-easterly across the summit of the mountain
ridge. A portion of it has been widened into a public road,
and at sundry places, portions of it are still to be seen in its
original form, paved with rather large stones, and secured by
a fence on each side. Its breadth is about 13 feet. A few years
since, a number of very massive brass (bronze) rings about
4 inches in diameter, with a small ring about half-an-inch

240 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

in diameter, attached to each, were found in Rickamore;
they are now in the British Museum. — Orel. Mem. MS.

Rickamore contains a cairn and two raths. The cairn
can be seen at a great distance along the windings of the
Clad y Water. Its dimensions are 22 by 18 feet, and its
extreme height is now only 6 feet. It was formerly covered
with earth, which seems to have been thrown down from its
summit, and to have given to it, its present oblong form.
The body of the cairn is composed of stones, which weigh
from 20 to 40 lbs. each. The principal of the Rickamore
raths, is locally called M'Neilly's Fort, because it is situated
in the farm of a person of that name. The rath is much
mutilated, but its diameter from north to south is
308 feet, the circular platform is 103 feet in diameter
it is encircled by a parapet 16 feet thick, 31- feet
high in the interior, and 7 feet high in the exterior
side. In this parapet is a gallery or artificial cave, the walls
of which are built with stones and roofed with flag-stones.
Outside the parapet is a ditch, varying in breadth from 17
to 9 feet. Beyond the ditch is a rampart, which varies in
breadth from 47 feet in thickness, to 39 feet. Several other
great earthworks and remains of galleries or caves in the
ramparts still remain, which indicate the former importance
of the great Rickamore Rath. At the distance of 720 yards
south-east of the great rath, there is a smaller rath, which
was provided with galleries in its parapets, and wa3
surrounded by three ramparts, of which some remains still
exist. — Ord. Mem. MS.

Muckamore, one of the most celebrated monasteries in
the Diocese of Connor, was founded by St. Colman-
Ela, better known under the name of Colmanellus. It was
so named from the fertile plain in which it was situated.

THE PARISH OP ANTRIM. 241

Magh-Comair — "the plain of the confluence," where the
river, now called the Six Mile Water, falls into Lough
Neagh. Jocelyn relates a prophecy of St. Patrick regarding
this monastery : — " One day when visiting the district of
Ulster, which is named Dalaradia, he passed through a
certain place called Mucomuir ; and he said, to those around
him, " know ye, my beloved sons, that in this spot, a certain
child of life, called Colmanellus, will build a church and will
gather together many sons of life and many fellow-citizens
of the angels." According to the Calendar of Donegal, his
mother was Mor, sister of St. Columbkille. His father was
a descendant from Feidhlim Sailne, who gave name to the
Dal-Sailne, or Dal-Selli, hence the saint is called by
Ad am nan Mac-u-Sailne. Feidhlim Sailne, was brother to
Fedhlim Buan, who gave name to the Dal-m-Buain. These
brothers were in the seventh descent from Eachach, whose
destruction, by the expansion of the Bann, gave name to
Loch-n-Eachach — Loch Neagh, and their descendants, the
DalSdilne and the Dal-muain occupied the territory on
the east of that lough. The Dal-Sailne extended north-
wards from the Crumlin River, or, perhaps, from the Glenavy
River. St. Colmanellus was born about the year 555,
in Glenelly, in the County of Tyrone; he became at an
early age, a devoted disciple of his uncle, St. Columbkille,
who obtained for him the site of a monastery from Aedh
Slane, the eldest son of the King Diarmaid, the monarch
who was murdered at Rathbeg. This favour St. Columbkille
could only obtain for him from Aedh, the head of the
southern Hy. Niall race, by pleading, that, at least by his
mother's side, Colman was of Hy. Niall blood ; so strong, in
those days, were clan prejudices. Aedh gave to him a woody
site along the stream Ela, where Colman erected Lann-Elo,

Q

242 DIOCESE OP CONNOR.

now called Lynally in the King's County ; and from that

monastery he is designated Colman-Elo, or Colmanellus.

From his paternal relatives he obtained the site, on which he

erected Muckamore ; and being Abbot of Connor and joint

patron with St. MacNissi of that church, Ids monastery of

Muckamore and the lands attached to it continued, even in

modern times, to be in the Diocese of Connor ; hence the

Grange of Muckamore, though on the south side of the

Six-mile Water belongs to the Diocese of Connor. When

Colman was leaving Iona, we are told by Adamnan, St.

Columbkille foretold that they would never see each other

again, which was verified by the event, for Columbkille died

in that very year. St. Colman was then a priest, he was after.

wardsraised to the episcopal rank. He died in his monastery of

Lynally, about four miles from Tullamore, on the 26th of

September, a.d. 611, being then 55 years of age. St.

Colmanellus was by the ancient Irish compared to St. John

"for wisdom and virginity." A gloss in the Leabhar Breac,

has preserved a part of some ancient hymn.

" I beseech Mammes, among ancient seniors,
Findcua and Colman-Ela, that they come into my company.
For this I beseech them to expel my sins.
Short be the time till they remember me, the three, humble,

pure !
Let them come to attend me, at the hour of death's warning. "

We know nothing of the history of this monasteny for
centuries after it was established by its holy founder; it
was no doubt subject to the successors of St. Colmanellus,
the Abbots of Connor and Lan-Ela, and at an early date it
embraced the monastic rule of the Regular Canons of St.
Augustine. In the year 1183, one of the subscribing
witnesses to a grant made by John de Courcey, is " P. Prior
de Muckmor." About this period the monastery became a

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 243

member of the congregation of St. Victor, belonging to the
Order of Regular Canons of St. Augustine, and it became
the recipient of many donations of lands and other posses-
sions made to it by the Anglo-Norman Knights that were
located through the County of Antrim, the names of some of
whom were William Mataland, Stephen de Sandal, and
Gilbert de Croft. The registry of the monastery contained a
confirmation made to the priory, by Isaac, Bishop of Connor
(a.d. 1245 to 1256), of the Churches of Killyglen, White-
park, Dunadry, Maudon, Dough, and Rathmore, which had
already belonged to it. Theiner's Vetera Monumenta, 1864,
contains a dispensation granted, April 22nd, 1289, by Pope
Nicholas IV., to " Roger, Prior of the monastery of Mucraor
of the Order of St. Augustin, Diocese of Connor," by which
it appears, that Roger was illegitimate, but obtained a
dispensation from Pope Alexander IV., to take Holy Orders
and to hold any benefice, " etiam si curam animarum
haberet ;" that he had obtained this dispensation in order to
become a secular priest ; that he had afterwards resigned
his benefice, and entered the monastery of Muckmor ; that
after the death of Augustin, the Prior of that monastery,
its conventus having obtained from the Bishop of Connor
and from Hugh Ladel, his Official, full power of providing
a Prior, had elected Roger ; that he, doubting whether he
could hold the priory by virtue of the previous dispensation,
sought a further dispensation. "The temporalities of the
Prior of Mugmore (Muckamore)," were valued in the Taxa-
tion of Pope Nicholas, at £23 15s. lOd. Laurentius, who was
Prior in 1356, compiled a Registry of Muckamore, which was
extant in the time of Ware, who made some extracts from
it, which are now preserved in the British Museum. They
are headed, il Ex Registro S. Colmanelli de Muck more in

244 DIOCESE OF CONNOE.

agro Antrimensi." (See Reeves, Eccl. Anliq) It contains
a confirmation by Lionel, Duke of Clarence, made in 1363,
of possessions of the Priory and Convent " of the Blessed
Mary, of Mukmore, in Ultonia, which is of the foundation
of R. (Richard) the progenitor, of Elizabeth, our most
beloved consort." Towards the end of the 15th century,
Charles O'Durnan was "Prior of Muckmor, of the Order of
St. Victor, under the rule of St. Augustine." Registry
of Octavian de Palatio — Reeves. Eccl. Antiq. At the sup-
pression of monasteries, Bryan Boy O'Maghallon (O'Mul-
holland), was Prior. At that time the monastery was
possessed of all the lands and churches already mentioned
in the confirmation made by Isaac, Bishop of Connor,
together with those of Carngraney, Shilvodan, Ballyrobert,
Rasharkin and Kilconriola, in the Diocese of Connor. It
also possessed iu the Diocese of Down, the Churches of
Killelagh or Killead, Carnmeavy, Killarn near Newtown-
ards, and Carrownathan, in Donaghadee. It, moreover, pos-
sessed eight townlands, constituting the modern Grange of
Muckamore, and had the Priory of Massereene, which was
situate in the townland of Balloo.

On the 3rd of December, 1564, a return was made that
the Prior and all his monks were dead. The possessions of
the Priory were granted by Queen Elizabeth, to Sir Thomas
Smith \ but Smith, according to the opinion of the Crown
lawyers, did not fulfil the conditions, and the monastic
property reverted to the Crown, which granted them to Sir
James Hamilton. By him they were conveyed to Sir Roger
Langford. The Terrier enters, " Monastorium de Mucka-
more (Captain Langford) — The Abbey pays Proxies, 43/- ;
Refections, 8/-; Synodals, 2/-." Cardinal Barbarini, 30th
July, 1635, presented to his Holiness, an Instanza, soliciting

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 245

the Priory of Killinshin (Castleboy in the Ards), belonging
to the Knights of Malta, under the title of St. John of
Jerusalem, and that of Muckainore, under the title of St.
Comgall, which belonged to the Canons Regular. He states
that those orders had ceased to exist in Ireland, and that
the churches are usually conferred on secular priests. His
petition was granted on the express condition, that if the
orders should at any future time be re-established in Ireland,
the Priories would be restored to them, but that compen-
sation for improvements should be made by the orders, if
long tenure and sufficient profits had not fully compensated
for them.— De Burgo. Hib. Domin.

The site of the priory is occupied by Muckamore House
and garden. The most central part of the building seems to
have been near a sharp turn of the Six Mile Water, where
the river after pursuing a westerly course, strikes off towards
the south. The priory stood on a narrow piece of ground
at the base of a gentle acclivity on the left bank of the river,
and at the distance of a mile and a quarter from the town
of Antrim. The situation was exceedingly picturesque ;
immediately before it the valley contracts, and the river
wends its way betv/een two lofty banks, which, rising
abruptly from its edge, tower on each side to an elevation of
from 70 to 100 feet above it. The glen thus described, takes
the name of Moylinny from that of a townland on the
opposite side of the river. From the central point already
mentioned the foundations of the Priory have been traced
for 390 yards eastward along the banks of the river, and
for 160 yards southward to the graveyard, which is situated
on the acclivity of the bank. Foundations of great thickness
have been dug up in the vicinity of the small fragments of
the walls that now remain. The portion of the walls which

246 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

yet remains, presents no peculiarity ; it is about 3 feet in
breadth, and its preservation is owinc* to the circumstance
that it happened to, correspond with the course of the garden
wall. It contains one stone, of Pitch-stone Porphry, a
quarry of which, now exhausted, is said to have been in the
N.E. of Carnearny Mountain, about seven miles distant.
Ancient paved roads have been discovered around the site of
the buildings. An ancient ford, paved with large flat stones,
was found beneath the bed of the river. " There is," says
Mr. James Boyle, in Ordnance Memoir MS. " a prevalent
idea in the country, that a quantity of gold and silver*
images, plate, and money have been found about the abbey.
Several weapons, chiefly of brass, have also been found
there, and a great number of querns. Flint arrow heads
and several brazen bells have been found in the grange."
Forts are very numerous, there are 27 of these structures in
the Grange, 18 of them are situated in the Deer Park, a
space of somewhat less than a square mile, which stretches
along the shores of Lough Neagh. Of those in the Deer Park,
that of Dunore, called also Badger Fort, is the most remark-
able, its form is irregular, somewhat approaching to a square.
It measures 146 by 149 feet, and is elevated 14 feet above the
Dunore River. Another rather conspicuous fort is situated
800 feet farther up the same stream. There is also a mound
in the Deer Park, which occupies an elevated position ; it is
10 feet high, 68 feet in diameter at the base, and 16 feet
in diameter at the summit. The other nine forts are
situated, four in Shaneognestown, two in Tirgracey, two in
Upper Ballyharvey, and one in Lower Ballyharvey. The
latter consists of a circular platform, 140 feet in diameter,
and 10 feet high, encompassed by a ditch 14 feet wide and
7 feet deep. On the eastern side of the platform is an oval

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 247

mound, 62 by 13 feet in diameter, and 8 feet high. A cave
extends along the circumference of the platform and extends
under the mound. There are three artificial caves of the
usual construction in the townland of Tirgracey, two in
Lower Bally harvey, one in Shaneognestown, and two in
Muckamore. At present the only Standing Stone in the
Grange, is in Lower Ballyharvey, where it occupies a con-
spicuous position near the western end of the townland. It
measures 4 feet above the ground, and is 2 feet by 1 foot 10
inches in thickness. A similar stone stood 450 yards
west of it, at a place called " The Cairn." It was
removed about 1836. Another Standing Stone stood in
the townland of Tirgarvey, but it was removed about
the year 1811, see Ord. Mem. MS. "A very great
«tone of this class is in Clady Water, adjoining Mucka-
more Grange, about 100 perches from the foot of the
river. It formerly stood on the brink, raised on supporters.
A neighbouring peasant supposing that it would be a good
Stepping Stone, shoved it off its supporters into the bed of
the river ; this man has been shoved from the country, as, I
think, never to return. The dimensions of this stone are 8
feet each way on the upper side, 4 feet thick on the southern
side, and 3 feet on the northern side. Its original situation
was on the side of a little green, bounded on one side by the
river and on another by a high steep and wooded bank,
which contained a cave." — MS. Lecture, written in Belfast,
24th February, 1804.

These numerous remnants of antiquity, indicate the
importance of the locality in remote ages, when it consti-
tuted a part of Moylinny, and in close proximity to the
royal residence at Rathmore.

In the townland of Lower Ballyharvey, and within 100

248 DIOCESE OF CONNOR,

yards of the eastern side of the rath, the traces of a burial
ground were discovered. It was a small plot of deep, rich
earth, in which a large quantity of skulls and human bones,
and also the foundations of several little walls, from 7 to 8
feet long and 1 foot thick, were found. The walls, which did
not appear above the ground, and some silver coins were
the only remains found. — Ordnance Memoir MS. writteu in
1839. It seems to have been the site of a little Christian
cemetery having stone-lined graves. The ground is now
cultivated and there is no tradition to throw light on its
history.

A small monastery was founded in the 15th century, at
Massareene, for Franciscan Friars of the Third Order, by
one of the O'Neills. A portion of the township of Antrim,
south of the Six-Mile- Water, is still called Massareene. The
name is written in O'Mellan's Journal of Phelim O'Neill
Masarpgna, which is interpreted Mas a' rioghain, the queen's
hill.* The foundations of the friary are remembered to have
been along the Six-Mile- Water, nearly opposite to Antrim
Castle. An inquisition taken 12th November, 1st of James
I., found that the priory was in the townland of Balloo, and
belonged to the Priory of Muckamore. From which it
would appear, that before the transfer to the Third Order of
Fransciscans, effected by O'Neill, it had belonged to
Muckamore, which still continued to possess the lands
attached to it. The Inqusition taken in Antrim, in 1605,.
found that to the Friary of Massareene belonged the town-
land of Ballydonagh in Ederdowen, and a parcel of thirty
acres, south of the river Owen-na-view (' the river of the

* Richard Dobb's Description of Antrim says, " Massereene in Irish,
4 Base-o-reen ' (the death of the queen) — some Irish king's daughter
or princess being drowned in that river."

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 249

rushes,' now the Six-Mile-Water), and that near it were the
foundations of a castle, called Clogananabree (Clogh na
rabrathar — " the castle of the friars,") alias Castlemonybray,
then almost prostrate. The Lord Deputy, was ordered in
1567, to erect a fort at Massareene. It was one of the forts
which was granted to Sir Thomas Smith, but, which Smith
offered, in 1573, to surrender to Essex on certain conditions
(Hamilton's Cal., 1st Series, pp. 340-507J On the 7th of
July, 1575, Essex " marched through the woods from Killulto
to Massareen," where he rested and made arrangements for
an expedition against Brian Carragh's crannoge on the Bann
(Lives of the Devereux Earls of Essex, Yol. I., p. 104). The
inquisition of 1521, found that the king was seized, in right
of his crown of Ireland, of the late dissolved Priory of
Masserine, in Co. Antrim, with its appurtenance, of a certain
parcel of land, containing 105 acres, lately in the occupation
of a certain fortress and garrison, which parcel of land is
surrounded by an old foss, extending from Lough Eaugh,
near to Owenview (Six -Mile-Water) ; and of the town of
Ballydonagh, lying in Ederdown, in the foresaid county, a
parcel of the said Priory of Masserine; being so seized, he,
by his letters patent, bearing date 20th July, in the third
year of his reign, granted to James Hamilton, knight, said
Priory of Masserine, and all the aforesaid with their appur-
tenance, together with the town of Ballowe." The inquisition
then finds that on the 24th of the same month, Sir James
Hamilton assigned this giaut to Sir Arthur Chichester. It
is said that the Chichester family exchanged the lands
belonging to the Monastery of Massareene for Fisher wick, in
Staffordshire, which had been the original seat of the
Skeffington family.

The Round Tower of Antrim, situate about half a mile

250 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

from the town, is the only remnant of an ecclesiastical
establishment that stood close to it. The height of the
tower is 93 feet. The outer circumference near the base is
fifty feet two inches, and the greatest internal diameter is
nine feet, the thickness of the wall at the door is three feet nine
inches. From this, its thickness gradually diminishes as it
ascends, so that immediatiely under the cap the wall is only 1
foot 8 inches in thickness. The stones used are, with the
exception of the lintels and jams, of a rather soft description
of basalt, which would seem to have been gathered of the
surface of the land, in the townland of Ladyhill, about three
miles north of the tower. Stones of a similar description
are abundant in that townland, and are not commonly to be
found elsewhere in the neighbourhood. They are blocks of
oblong form laid lengthwise, few of them are bondstones, or
go " through and through," they are generally rather
unskillfully laid. The outside has been pointed in 1819,
but the inside shows that very little mortar was used, and
that for about the first 22 feet above the sill it was built in
courses of 4 feet each, and in some instances the courses
were not horizontal. Above this the stones diminish in size.
It is divided into three stories, with holes in the wall for
joists to support lofts; all the openings or windows are
square headed, those near the top correspond with the four
cardinal points, and near them a beam of oak extends across
the tower ; but to what age it belongs there is no means of
judging. The level of the ground has been considerably
lowered by removing the soil, so that the offsets of the
foundations are exhibited. The door is on the north side,
about seven feet above the original level of the ground ; it is
four feet three inches in height by two feet wide. The out-
side lintel of the door consists of a large stone of a dark

THE PARISH OP ANTRIM. 251

coloured porphyry ; and another stone forms the inside lintel
obtained probably from Sandy Brae, near Doagfa ; between
these is a beam of oak, which seems to have been placed
there at the erection of the tower, for it appears impossible
that it could have been inserted afterwards. On a stone of
the same material is a pierced cross within a circle, sculptured
in relievo, a drawing of which, though somewhat inaccurate,
is given in Petrie's Bound Towers; but a very accurate
drawing of the door-way is given in that celebrated work.

The sill and lintels of the door are worn very smooth from
constant use at some remote time. From the manner in
which openings left in the walls to receive joists occur, it is
evident that a spiral stair, in the interior, extended to the
highest story. In some of the putlock holes the ends of the
oak beams still remain, and just above the upper windows,
there is still remaining an oak beam eight inches square; it
is perfectly sound except that where it enters the wall it is a
little decayed. Upon this beam, the centring for the roof
seems to have rested. This centring seems to have been
wickerwork, as the maiks of the twigs are quite visible in
the mortar. The interior of the dome is more spherical than
conical. The windows are at different heights, and, except
at the top, are not opposite each other. The doorway is 7
feet 4 inches from the ground, the first window 20 feet 4
inches, the second 35 feet 4 inches, the third 45 feet 6 inches,
the fourth 63 feet, and the four upper windows 77 feet from
the ground. It is probable that there was at each of the
lower windows a landing place or half stage.

The original cap was shattered by lightning, at some
remote period, fcr the stones were found riven and splintered.
It was repaired in 1819, by the late William Clarke, Esq.,
with well-dressed Tardree, or white porphyry stones. There

252 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

was formerly on the summit of the tower, a hexagonal stone,
either a spear or the lower part of a cross. It was inserted
into a hewn and somewhat tapering block of stone, 20
inches in diameter, and 10 inches deep; both the spear, or
cross, and the stone in which it had been inserted, were
found broken. The foundations of ancient buildings and
vast quantities of human remains were discovered in the
space adjacent to the Round Tower. In a list, published in
the Northern Whig, April 23rd, 1835, of donations presented
by Counsellor Gibson to the Belfast Museum, is " a fragment
of stone, apparently a mould used for casting cruci6xesr
found among the rubbish of ancient buildings, immediately
beside the Round Tower of Antrim." The stone, certainly,
was not a mould ; it was a portion af some ornamental work,
perhaps a part of a shrine. There is in Mr. Clarke's garden
a large stone of the class usually called in Down and Connor
Glun-stones (knee stones). It measures 6 feet, by 4 feet 7
inches. On one side it has nearly a level surface, in which are
two cavities or basins, evidently the work of art, which are
always, it is said, filled with water ; the larger of these is
9 inches deep, 15 inches long, and 12 inches broad, and the
smaller is 3 inches deep, and 6 inches in diameter. This is
locally called the Witch's Stone, and many absurd stories
are told about it. Its original situation was 120 yards from
and nearly due north of the tower; a little rivulet, which is
now diverted, ran along the side of the stone, when it
occupied its former position,

Here stood a monastic institution, intimately connected
with Bangor, and perhaps erected by St. Comgall, the founder
of Bangor. Its name is written in the Annals of Ireland,
Oentreibh and Oentroibh,a.nd Entrobh (pronounced Entrove) —
" the one ridge," or " the one house."

THE PARISH OF CONNOR. 253

The Four Masters record, a.d. 612, "Fintan of Oentreibh,
Abbot of Bangor died."

A.D. 722. "St. Flann, of Aontrebh, Abbot of Bangor
died." His festival was celebrated on the 15th of December.

A.D. 822. The plundering of Beannchair (Bangor), by
the foreigners (Danes) ; the oratory was broken, and the
relics of Combgball were taken from the shrine in which
they were, as Comhghall (pronounced Cowghali — St. Corn-
gall), himself had foretold, when he said,

" It will be true, true, by the will of the supreme
King of Kings,
My bones will be brought, without defeat, from
beloved Bangor to Eantrobh."

It appears from this entry that the relics of St. Comgall
were removed, in consequence of the Danish invasion, to
Antrim, from Bangor, which on account of its position on the
sea coast was more exposed to the attacks of these pirates.

A.D. 877. " Muireadhac (Muragh), son of Cormac,
Abbot of Eantrobh " died.

A.D. 941. "Ceallach (Kallagh), son of Bee, Lord of
Dal-Araidhe, was killed at Oentrobh, by his own tribe."

A.D. 1018. "Antrum spoiled by Fermanach," according
to the translation of the Annals of Ulster, made for Sir
James Ware, but O'Connor translates the passage, as if the
act had been done — " by sea robbers."

A.D. 1030. "The Kinel-Owen broke the ship of
O'Loingsigh (O'Lynchy), in front of Oentraibh." — Annals
of Ulster.

A.D. 1096. "Flann UaMureagain (O'Muragin), Air-
chinneach of Aentrobh" died.

A.D. 1147. " Roscre (Roscrea) and Oentrobh were
burned." The glosses of the Felire of Aengus, in the

254 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Leabhar Breac, at the 31st July, give us the number of
inmates in Antrim, according to an old quatrain.

"The nine hundred of Beannchoir (Bangor),
The six hundred of Oentreibh.

The five hundred of Conaire (Connor), of the contests ; —
It is for Moedoc, it is for Choemoc, it is for Comgall."
Notes to Archdall by Dr. Moran.

The great monastic Church of Antrim sunk in importance,
probably, during the Danish invasion. When the valuation
for the Pope Nicholas Taxation was made, "TheBectory
of Antrim " was valued at five marks, and " the Vicarage
of the same," at 12 marks, which seems a curious inversion
of the general order. It appears from an entry in P rends
Registry, that the parish church was dedicated under the
invocation of All Saints. AD. 1435, John O'Gillamyr, a
clerk of Connor, was presented by the Primate to the Vicaria
parochialis ecclesioe Omnium Sanctorum de Introia. The
Oentraibh (Eantriv), of the ancient Irish documents had
assumed, during the fourte< nth and fifteenth centuries, the
Latin forms Introia and Eidroia. The Terrier enters,
" Ecclesia de Entroyie, alias Antrim, 1 townes Erenoth
lands, whereof the bishop hath had 10 groats out of every
town; and certainly it is supposed that the other 12 townes
were given to it as a glebe. It pays Proxies, 5/-;
Refections, 5/- ; Synodals, 2/." This entry seems to prove
that Antrim was one of the small episcopal sees absorbed in
the Diocese of Connor. The entry in the Visitation Book
of 1622, says, "The patronage impropriate to Woodburne,
possest by Sir Hugh Clotworthy, Knight," and adds,
u the church and walls newly erected." This portion of the
entry refers to the present Protestant Church.

It is remarkable, that, wherever in Down and Connor

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 255

there is, or was, a Round Tower, except thatof Ram's
Island, there are historical documents to prove that the
church in its vicinity was once a bishop's see, or, in the
absence of such documents, the lands were held in compara-
tively recent times 'under the see. With regard to Ram's
Island, few historical references remain, and the see-lands in
its vicinity, were usurped in the reign of James I., by Sir
Foulke Conway, or, as the Ter ier says, of the Bishop's Mensal
of Camelin — " they were sparpalit by evil neighbours."

There is in the townland of Holywell, at the distance of
five and a half furlongs north of the Tower, an ancient Holy
Well. It is situated on the acclivity of a hill, and about the
end of last century it was neatly faced with stone. According
to tradition, Stations were formerly made at, and penitential
exercises were performed from it to the Witch's Stone,

In the Inquisitions, two townlandsare named Ballygallan-
trim and Ballyantrim, and the Down Survey calls the parish
Gall Antrim. The word Gall was applied by the Irish to
foreigners, and to the English ; Gallantrim, therefore, seems to
signify the Antrim of the English, which is represented by
the present town, as distinguished from the old Antrim,
which was at the Steeple or Round Tower. The English
colonists may have built a church on the site at present
occupied by the Protestant church, which was erected in
1596, but the original church was at the Round Tower.

The Castle of Antrim, or as it is sometimes improperly
named Massareene Castle, appears to have been originally
erected early in the Reign of James I., by Sir Hugh
Clotworthy. This Sir Hugh was one of the adventurers
who accompanied the Earl of Essex in his expedition to
Ulster, in 1573; he was a captain under Chichester, in
Canickfergus, in 1G03. He obtained in 1605, a grant of

256 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Antrim, and of the territory of Grange, which had belonged
to the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, in Armagh, and he
had charge of certain boats at Massareene and Lough Sidney,
a name which the English attempted to impose on Lough
Neagh. He was allowed 5/-, Irish, per day, for himself,
and tenpence, Irish, per day, each for eighteen men. This
grant was made to Sir Hugh for life, but he surrendered it
in 1618, and obtained a re-grant to himself and his son John
Clotworthy, with a pension of 6/8 English, during the life of
the survivor of them. Sir John succeeded his father as
captain of the boats, by commission, dated, 28th of January,
1641, at 15/- a day, for himself; his lieutenant 4/-; the
master 4/-; master's mate 2/-; a master gunner 1/6 ; two
gunners 12d; and forty men at 8d each. Sir John was
required by a resolution of parliament, " to build the hulls
of the bark and the boats, and to maintain them at his own
charge, but he is to have as much money presently allowed
him, as shall be necessary for their rigging." Sir John
represented the County of Antrim, in the Irish Parliament,
but he resigned his seat in order to wreak his vengeance, in
the English Parliament, on the Lord Deputy Strafford. He
was returned for Malvern, and seconded Pym's motion for
the impeachment of Strafford; and on the trial, he
was the second witness examined. That wicked age pro-
duced not a more blood-thirsty hater of Irishmen, than
Sir John. " Some time before the rebellion broke out,"
tsays the Protestant historian Carte, " it was confidently
reported that Sir John Clotworthy, who well knew the
designs of the faction that governed the House of Commons,
in England, had declared there, in a speech, that the conver-
sion of the Papists in Ireland was only to be effected by the
Bible in one hand and the sword in the other ; and Pym.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 257

gave out that they would not leave a priest in Ireland."
When the insurrection of 1641 burst forth, on the first
alarm, the English and Scotch inhabitants of the County of
Antrim, who had shown little forbearance towards the
natives, and expected as little in return, fled from their
homes and took refuge in the garrison towns. James
Clotworthy hastened from his residence in Moneymore, and
secured the Castle, from any sudden attack, for his brother,
Sir John, who was then in London. Sir John was directed
to raise a regiment, of which he appointed his brother
Lieut. -Colonel. The latter garrisoned Mountjoy, and seeing
the strategetic importance of the dismantled Fort of Toome, he
repaired and fortified it. That fort gave him the command
of the river, and enabled him to make incursions into the
County of Derry.

Of the various writers who have left memoirs of the
terrible war of 1641, one of the most truthful is an officer in
Sir John Clothworthy's regiment, who wrote a sketch of the
Warr of Ireland. He informs us, that when news came
that the Irish army approached Antiim, over the Six-Mile-
Water, orders were sent to Major Foulk Ellis, who held
Antrim.

"To secure the castle, and to march away with bag and baggage.
On which some townsmen went away, the alarm of the Irish Army's
approach being so terrible to them, The officers, Major Ellis,
Captains James Clotworthy, Robert Houston, Arthur Langford, and
James Colville, held a council of war, and resolved to defend the
place. ' On which went to work, men and women, and a ditch, of
about 8 feet broad, without any breastwork, only the flankers and
rounds ; which, before fully finished, the Irish Army appears on
the hill of .... to the number of about 4,000, under the
command of Turlough Oge O'Neill, brother to Sir Phelim, who was
a gentleman, more a Mercurian than of Mars's traine. They marched
down, till they came to those hills next adjacent to the upper end

258 DIOCESE OF CONNOR,

of the town, where they remained, tracing up and down inoffensively
from Monday till Wednesday, the 13th of February (1642), on which
day they made three parties of themselves — all the pikemen having,
a shafe or two of corn on his pike — and so advanced in front, not
above ten or twelve as fyle leaders, and about forty or fifty deep in
in each fyle, which was an odd way to attack a town. They attacked
in several places — at the Townhead Gate, at the Flanker next to the
Mill, and at Parker's Gate, then so called, being the gate as you go
out of the town to Shane's Castle. The party that charged the Town-
head Gate, and the Flanker came nc nearer than a pike's length, who
were so galled out of the Flanker, that they fell back and lost about
fourteen or fifteen killed. Those who advanced to the Mill Flanker
did not much better ; and those at Parker's Gate, nothing at all,
but retired. Of those killed at the Townhead, there were two
Captains, one Captain Hagan, and one Captain Hara, whose heads,
some of the soldiers, without directions, brought into the Town, and
hung them on a Batteries crook a day or two. In all this pitiful
and unsoldierlike assault, my Captain's (Houstown) quarter of the
town was at the gate, going out to the Steeple, near the Meeting-
House now, but never a shot came near hand us, not being assaulted.
There were in the town, at this time, about 700 Foot and a Troop
of Horse. . . After the Irish fell off, they marched over the river
at Muckamur, and quartered all night at Old Stone. The next
morning, Captain Clotworthy, only with his man, went to Carrick-
fergus for relief, which, before it came, being about 300 Horse and
Dragoons, the Irish burnt all the haggards of corn in the country,
and marched away to Lame, where they acted as meanly."

A rare pamphlet in the Grenville Library, dated August
17th, 1642, entitled a relation from Belfast, sent to a friend,
&c, published in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, by the
late Mr. Pinkerton, says,

"Since my last to you of the 11th of July, from Mountjoy,
Colonell Clotworthy had some business in Antrem, where after his
stay for two dayes, he was returning back to Mountjoy by water,
where he met on the Lough with a great storme, yet was resolved to
venture onwards, notwithstanding, and therefore cast anchor neare
an island in the Lough, called Ram's Island, intending there to land
and stay till the storme was over ; but when he was going to land
there, a violent storme forced him back againe to Antrem, where he

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 259

that night received certain intelligence, that had he landed that
night, according to his intention in that Island, he had been cut oil",
for many of the Eebells had gotten thither for shelter, and might
easily have prejudiced him, he not expecting to meet any there, and
the company with him not being many ; but thus did God's
immediate hand interpose and divert what otherwise was near.
This storme also lost five of Colonell Clot worthy's boates, he had
built for the Lough, but he, by setting men to work, presentlie to
repaire them, hath made up all his former number, which is twelve
large boates that will carry sixty men a peece, and the Admiral, the
Sidney, which also hath he built, and with these Botes and Barkes,
he is able to carry on any part of the Lough side neare a 1,000 men,
which doth so distract and torment the rebels, that they have no
quiet thereaboutes. Hereby we have all our victuals easily trans-
ported, and our ammunition (carrying now by land only to Antrim),
and thence by water in these Boates, we convey it to any part
joyning to the Lough, which is of exceeding advantage to us. As
soon as the Lough was calme, Colonell Clotworthy went to Mountjoy,
to that part of his regiment he left there, and presently upon his
coming, having notice the enemy was within 7 or 8 miles, he took
400 of his men, leaving some in Garrison at the Forts, and mounted
40 more, with firelocks, on horses he had formerly taken from the
enemy ; and with this 440 men he marched all night and came
timely with the leager of the Rebels, where he found most of them
in their beds, and thereby had an opportunity of cutting many of
them off before they could get to their Armes, and runne away,
which presently they did, though there were 1,000 of them ; and as
we are certainly informed, Sir Philem Oneale was there also, and
ranne among the rest, but in Colonell Clotworthy's first charge they
shot Colonell Ocane (who is counted their most skilful commander
who came from beyond the sea to them), him they shot in the leg,
kild his Lieut. -Colonell, who was one of Chief of the O'Quines, and
divers of his Captains, and about 60 of their common Souldiers ; had
their horse been any good, more execution might have been done
upon them, but they were only such as Colonell Clotworthy took
from the enemy, and not one Shoe upon them all, yet served to bring
home a prey of 600 cowes, which that night they brought to the
Leagar at Mountjoy."

The fort of Mountjoy had been taken in July, 1G42, by
Sir John Clotworthy, who carried about 500 men, at night,

260 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

over the Lough, from Antrim, and took Mountjoy, which
was abandoned by the Irish, before they came. When the
fort was taken, " there came to us daily," says The History
of the Warr of Ireland, " women and children of the British,
so much, that they were sent away, the first fair wind, to
Antrim, for they could not be maintained; and some of which
were the wives and children of that troop we mentioned
before, who gave them for lost, and drew much innocent
blood, in revenge of them." These were the wives and
children of Barnet Lindsay's men, of Tullaghoge, who had
already murdered, in revenge of them, eighty persons, men,
women and children, near Templepatrick. (See p. 238J»
The Antrim garrison were not always so successful.
O'Mellans Journal (M.S.), says,

" May 27th, 1642 The Scotch of Massareene (Measaregna), come
here over Lough Neagh. Captain O'Hagan met them ; four of them
killed, and six wounded ; they returned immediately over the lake.'*

" The garrison of Mountjoy held out in spite of the Irish; precisely
on Thursday, a reinforcement of 1,( 00 men, having come to the
garrison from Massareene, they took from Felim ' of the war ' O'Neill,
30 cows."

"April 28th, 1643. They came next day to M'Cann's fort (?) Doinn
Cana), and they took some plunder. The General's people followed
and they killed above 00 of them. They took their plunder too, and
a great number of arms. The General only lost S men, together
with Art O'Neill (M'Cormac M'Turlogh Breasalagh.) Sir Felim
came to the besieging army and doubled it, so that he prevented all
egress. The reinforcing party were obliged to return in their boats
for want of provisions."

" September 15th, 1645. A boat belonging to the Governor of
Massareene, was captured by Sir Felim, in which were two brass
cannon, ten muskets, twelve barrels of salted fish, some sailors and
a company of soldiers. They brought it to the mouth of the river
at Charlemont ; some of the men were hanged, and some redeemed."

" May 8th, 1646. Seven boats were captured on Lough Neagh,
by Sir Felim ; fourteen men were taken, and above twenty killed.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 261

The boats were brought to the mouth of the river of Charlemont,
and Sir Felim went to the General's camp. "

"January 21st, 1647. Sir Felim sent out on Lough Neagh, seven
boats and a bark, in which were two field-pieces and a strong crew.
They burned two of the enemies forts in Claneboy, and a great hag-
gard, belonging to Major Connelly, the person who informed against
Conor Maguire, Lord Enniskillen, who was put to death in 1644.
They killed both men and cattle, and brought away with them
whatever they pleased in the boats. They were pursued both by
land and water."

The Castle passed into the hands of the Cromwellian party
in 1648, but, in the following year, Sir George Monroe, with
about 100 men, from Coleraine — Colonel MacDonnell's
regiment, of about 400, together with 300 men of Sir
Felim's regiment, and six or seven score horse, came before
the town in October, and summoned it to yield to the king.

"But those within the Castle— one of Cromwell's Captains, with
his company, and one Lieutenant Devlin, with a troop, returned
answer that they would not yield the Castle ; on which the town was
assaulted and burnt, and some were commanded to fire at the mount
and castle, but to little purpose ; where was lost one Captain
Maglahlin, and about twelve men, without any hopes of getting
either Castle or Mount. Being a place that is not foraBunning
party to attack. After this, Munroe marched to town, which was
surrendered before he went thither, where he left some of his men
to keep it." — The Warr of Ireland.

Sir John Clotworthy was one of those men who would not
permit either conscience, or loyalty, or gratitude to stand in
the way of his interests. He at once joined the Cromwellian
party, and an indenture was perfected on the 14th of
August, 1656, between the Protector and him, whereby, in
consideration of surrendering his pension, a lease was
granted him for 99 years "of Lough Neagh, with the fishing
and soil thereof, and the islands therein, called Ram's Island
and Coney Island, containing three acres of ground, also the

262 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Lough and River of Bann, as far as the Salmon Leap,
containing six salmon fishings, and two mixed fishings of
salmon and eels, and another of trouts."

When it became obvious that the restoration of Charles
II. would take place, the English Parliament began to draw
up a declaration of general pardon for themselves, to be
signed by the king. The convention in Ireland was afraid
that the Irish might be included in the general pardon
" It was concluded," says Dr. French's Setilemant and Sale
of Ireland, " that a man of parts among the Presbyterian
party should be employed into England to prepossess the
dangers and inconveniences which the restoring of the Irish
Natives to their estates, would infallibly bring on the new
English interest in that kingdom. In pursuance of these
resolutions, all the prisons were filled with the Nobility and
Gentry of that Nation. Sir John Clotworthy, a man famous
for plundering Somerset House, murdering the King's
subjects, and committing many other treasons and horrid
crimes, was despatched into England." Imagination alone
can paint the scene that Ireland presented in the Autumn
of 1660, at the opening of the Court for executing the King's
" Gracious Declaration for the settlement of all interests
there." The fierce Cromwellian upstarts were determined
to hold all their ill-gotten possessions ; of these Sir John
Clotworthy was amongst the most outspoken. When the
matter of the estate of Sir Henry O'Neill, which was then
in his possession, was under debate, he lifted the King's
printed Declaration, and putting his hand on his sword
said that he would, have the benefit orit by this. He was
appointed a Commissioner of the Court of Claims, where his
official position enabled him to exclude from justice those
whom he had robbed of their property. Sir John petitioned

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 263

Charles II., stating that "being obstructed by a late
unlawful power in receiving his pension, he was forced to
take the lease of Lough Neagh in lieu thereof." Charles
pretending to believe him, ratified Cromwell's grant of Lough
Neagh and the Bann, restored his pension, and made Sir
John, Baron of Lough Neagh and first Yiscount of
Massareene, entailing the honours on his son-in-law, Sir
John Skeffington, and his issue by Mary Clotworthy. In
1665, his lordship obtained the grant of a patent, to hold fairs
in Antrim, on the 1st of May, 4th of June, 1st of July, 4th of
August, 1st of October, and 4th of November, and the day
after each, together with a license to enclose 1,000 acres for
a deer park, and a patent for Antrim to send two Members
to Parliament.

Sir John Skeffington, the second Lord Massareene, in his
father-in-law's lifetime, represented the county of Antrim in
the Parliament, which sat from 1661 to 1666. He was also
of the Privy Council of Charles II ■ was appointed Custos
.Rotulorum of the County of Derry, and obtained, by patents,
under the Acts of Settlement and Explanation, grants of
lands from the Crown in the Baronies of Dunluce, Massareene,
Kilconway, Toome and Antrim, also lands in the Counties of
Cavan, Clare, Louth, Monaghan, Tipperary and West Meath;
all of which, including the original estate of Massareene
made a grand total of about 45,000 acres. James II
appointed him of his Privy Council, and Governor of the
County of Derry and Town of Coleraine. Nevertheless, when
in three years afterwards, the Revolution commenced
Massareene assembled the gentry of the County of Antrim in
his castle, where they formed themselves into what was
called the "Antrim Association." They appointed
Montgomery, Lord Mount Alexander, and Clotworthy

264 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Skeffington, Massareene's eldest son, Commanders-in-Chief
of the Antrim Forces. Clotworthy Skeffiington, there-
fore, raised a regiment of foot, of which he became the
colonel. In a proclamation, issued soon after, by the Lord
Deputy Tyreconnell, ten persons were excepted from pardon,
among whom were Lord Massareene and his son. After the
break of Dromore, Colonel Skeffington abandoned Antrim
Castle, which was occupied by a detachment of the troops of
the Jacobite General, Richard Hamilton. They seized Lord
Massareene's plate, which had been left concealed, but its
place of concealment was betrayed by one of his own servants.
The plate was said to have been worth more than £3,000.
Colonel Skeffington, after abandoning Antrim, possessed
himself of Bellaghy, Castle Dawson's Bridge, now Castle
Dawson, and the different passes on the Bann, above Port-
glenone. One detachment of his regiment, under Lieutenant-
Colonel Houston, was placed at Toome. Colonel Gordon
O'Neill, son of the celebrated Sir Phelim Roe O'Neill, rested
for a short time at Antrim Castle, in March 1688-9, and then
pushed on for Toome, and encamped at Drumislough Hill*
From thence he summoned Colonel Skeffiington's garrisons,
of Dawson's Bridge and Magherafelt, to lay down their arms ;
but relying on the impassable state of the roads, then flooded,
Skeffington refused, and O'Neill was unable to enforce his
mandate. In April, 1689, a detachment of Skeffington's
legiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Edmonston, occupied
Portglenone, but on the night of the 7th, a party of Hamil-
ton's troops, under Colonel Nugent, secured five or six great
boats, and passed Skeffington's guards, on the Bann, crossing
about a mile above Portglenone, they advanced on the town
and defeated Edmonston's troops, who retreated on Cole-
raine. The main body of the Jacobites now advanced from

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 265

Dungannon ; and at their approach, the garrisons of Money-
more, Dawson's Bridge, Magheraf elt, Bellaghy, andTooine,and
the troops on the passes of the Bann retreated, followed by
Skeffington's and Bawdon's regiments, over the mountains
to Derry. Coleraine was shortly afterwards abandoned, and
all the adherants of William flocked to Derry as their last
refuge. The success of King William reinstated Massareene
in his Castle and property. His great grandson, Clot worthy,
was created an earl in 1756, but the earldom expired with
his son Chichester, in 1816 ; the Viscounty of Massareene
devolved on Chichester's daughter, who married Thomas
Henry Foster, Viscount Ferrard, the only son of the last
speaker of the Irish House of Commons, and her grandson
is the present Viscount.

The last time that Antrim was the scene of warfare, was
in 1798 ; while Antrim remained in the possession
of the Kings troops, supported by the garrison of
Belfast, and the camp at Blaris, the United Irishmen had
little prospect of making a formidable stand, hence the
following order : —

"Army of Ulster. To-morrow we march on Antrim, drive the
garrison of Randalstown before you, and haste to form a junction with
the Commander-in-Chief. 1st year of liberty, 6th day of June, 1798.

Henry Joy M'Cracken.

M'Cracken's men marched from Boughfort (see p. 14),
and were soon joined by their brethern from Killead and
Templepatrick ; the latter had a six-pounder cannon, fixed on
the wheels of an old chaise, and filled to the muzzle with
musket balls, but as they had neither slow match nor
portfires, one of their gunners carried an iron pot full of
burning peat ; such as were armed with muskets marched in
front, and some of the corps bore with them the flags of

266 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

their former Volunteer companies. On that of Ballyeaston
was * Liberty and our Country ;" on that of Ballyclare was
" Fear no Danger," a motto it is said they soon forgot. The
Ballynure men proceeded by a different route, joining by
the way those from Lame ; that body defiled down the north
side of the town, for the purpose of entering it by Bow
Lane, while those on the Templepatrick Road moved down
the east end of the main street. The latter body were met
by eighty of the dragoons, under Colonel Lumley, but the
six-pounder opened fire, and at the same time the dragoons
were galled by a well directed fire from the church-yard, and
they soon found themselves entangled among the numerous
pikemen who filled the streets. The dragoons retreated by
Massareene Bridge, the artillery retired down the street
nearly opposite the entrance from Bow Lane, and the yeomen
betook themselves into the gardens of the Castle. The
Ballyclare men were now entering Bow Lane, where the
artillery perceiving them, fled leaving their guns and
tumbrels in the street. A large body of insurgents under
Samuel Orr, had advanced from Bandalstown, and were in
loud debate who should enter the town by Bow Lane, and
who by Patty's, when the defeated dragoons galloped up,
striving to make their escape ; the rebels, on seeing them,
were convinced that their friends in the town had been
defeated ; they instantly fled in wild confusion, leaving behind
them 900 muskets and 300 slain. M'Cracken, who on that
fatal day, exhibited bravery worthy of a better fate, finding
that his men were in hopeless disorder, collected on the
heights of Donegore such of his scattered forces as had
escaped or retained firmness for another trial of arms. They
there formed an encampment, but they soon dispersed ; while
M'Cracken, with about one hundred men retired to the

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 267

wilds of Slemish. The loyalists lost about 30 men, among
whom was Lord O'Neill.

The Castle, the erection of which was completed in the
year 1613, was altered or rather rebuilt by Sir John
Clotworthy, Lord Massareene, in the year 1662. In the
Oak Koom, hangs his portrait, which represents him in
close fitting doublet and trews, as a Puritan Soldier of the
Cromwellian period, but not close cropped. The Oak Room
is an unique apartment of large dimensions, wainscotted to
the ceiling with oak, from the park, elaborately carved, but
the principal feature of it is " The Speaker's Chair,"* of the
Irish House of Commons. The chair is of solid oak, the
arms of it are formed out of one entire piece, the top is
rounded into a half circle, and is elevated considerably over
the head of the person seated in it. Above the chair
ranging round the wainscotted wall of the arched recess, in
which it is placed, are fifteen shields bearing the arms of the
various Speakers of the Irish house of Commons, commencing
with Sir John Davis, Speaker in the Parliament of 1613,
and terminating with the Right Hon John Foster, the last
Speaker in 1801. The Speaker's Mace, which is similar in
material, form, and size, to that now used in the House of
Commons in Westminster, is deposited by Lord Massareene,
in an oak box in the Antrim branch of Ulster Bank. The
last Speaker afterwards created Lord Oriel, on vacating the
chair when he declared the Act of Union passed, took the
chair and the mace with him, and answered to numerous
applications made by the Government for them with

* In the Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. IV. p. 260, is given the
drawing of another Speaker's Chair. The " Wool Sack," of the Irish
House of Lords, is at present the chair of the President of the Royal
Irish Academy ; and the seats of the Irish House of Commons, are
those now used by the Members of the Academy.

268 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the memorable words. " When that body which owned the
chair and mace, and entrusted them to me, claims them
from me, I will return them." See Paper by Clannaboy
(the late Gh. H. O'Niett, Esq., Barrister), in the Dub. Univ.
Magazine. *

The following Penny and Twopenny tokens were issued
by shopkeepers of Antrim.

Bryce Craford, Antrum, 1657. Gilbert Ross, in Antrim.
Joh. Vavch, Marcht. in Antrim. John Steward, of Antrim,
Marchand. Mathew Bethell, Post Ms. tr. in Antrim, 1671.
Robart Yong, Dyer in Antrim. Samuel Sheenon, in Antrim,
Marcht, . . 68. Thomas Palmer, in Antrim, Mar chant.
Will. Stewart, in Antrum, Marchant. William Craford, in
Antrum, Marchant, 1656.

In the civil parish of Antrim there are 3 mounds and 27

raths or forts. One of the mounds is situated near the

Oastle of Antrim. Its diameter, at the base, is 153 feet,

and at the top 33 feet, and its height is 37 feet. The other

mound occupies a conspicious situation on the summit of a

ridge, in the townland of Crosskennan, 500 feet above the

level of the sea. Tt is semiglobular in shape ; 73 feet in

diameter, and 12 feet in height. It is one of the funereal

* There is preserved in Antrim Castle, a tablet of marble, about two
feet long by sixteen inches wide, shaped like the doorway of a
temple. On it is sculptured a young lady seated in a chair, the back
of which is formed of one of the valves of a scallop shell, underneath
is inscribed — D.M. Publicas. Glycerine. F. Suae. Carissimae, et.
Pientissimje. Quae. Yixit. Annis. XV. Diebus. XXV. Virgini.
Benemerenti. Fecit. Publicia. Irene. Mater. "Dedicated to the
memory of Publicia Glycera, her daughter — the dearest and most
affectionate who lived 15 years and 25 days. To the well deserving
virgin, Her Mother, Publicia Irene, erected this. —The tablet
was found in 1846, in the garden of Captain Weir, at Larkhill ; it
probably belonged to the Roman antiquities, which the Earl of
Bristol had collected at Ballyscullion.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 260

mounds near which the old Irish erected their churches.
The site of one may yet be discovered in its vicinity. The
late Alexander Johns, Esq., of Carrickfergus, compiled some
notes on Irish Crosses, and in them he says. "At Cross
Kennan, two miles N.E. of Antrim, stood a high wooden
cross." The third mound is in Dunsilly ; at a short distance
from it there was an ancient church, in the townland of
Killbeggs. The father of Mr. Ferguson, the proprietor of
the field remembered the old graveyard. The site
is still sufficiently indicated by the richer appearance
of the soil, and until recently it was still more
distinguished by two " fairy thorns," remarkable for their
height. Unfortunately there was a demand, some years ago,
in Belfast, for thorn wood, for mill purposes, and even the
sacred character of the " fairy thorn " could not save them
from the cupidity of midnight thieves. The townland of
Killbegs — ' the little church ' — was named from the church
to which this cemetery belonged ; and perhaps Dunsilly,* is
called from Sillan Abbot of Bangor, who died 606, for we
know that at that period the church of Antrim was ruled by
the Abbot of Banger, and Sillan's successor, who died in
612, was named " Fintan of Oentrebh " — or Antrim. The
Bath in Bathenraw, is the most remarkable ; the other forts,
26 in number, scattered through the civil parish, are of the
usual class of Irish raths. They generally occupy a sloping
situation, and are almost invariably in the immediate vicinity
of a stream or spring. Artificial caves are numerous, they
are generally four feet high, 3 feet wide at the bottom, and

* The civil parish of Antrim comprises what are popularly called
" the sixteen towns of Antrim " and " the five towns of Dunsilly ; "
the latter are in the bai-ony of Toome. Both divisions are now sub-
divided into more numerous sub-denominations.

270 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

2 feet wide at the top; their sidewalls are built of dry stones,
and roofed with flag-stones, which are covered with a few
feet of earth. One occurs in the townland of Ladyhill ; one
near the stream that bounds the townland of Craigy Hall on
the east. Several caves, or perhaps one, with several
branches, is in the townland of Gallyhill. A cave was dis-
covered within 70 yards of the Round Tower, but it was
distroyed adout 50 years ago.

Standing Stones. — On the right hand side of the road to
Ballyclare, and about ISO yards from the eastern end of
Antrim, at a place called the " Grey Stone Brae," is the
remnant of a Standing Stone. It is almost due south of the
Round Tower. 226 feet S.E. of the last is another, 5 feet
high, and above 2 feet square. 220 yards S. of the last is
a portion of another. The fourth is also broken, it stands
62 yards E.S.E. of the third. It is said that they marked
an ancient road, which extended from Carrickfergus to the
Round Tower of Antrim, and that they can be more easily
traced in the intervening parishes.

Connor, which gives name to the Diocese, is written in
ancient documents, under the various forms of Condere,
Condire, Condeire, Condaire, which were pronounced some-
what like Conire. A note to the Calendar of Aengus, in the
Lvabhar Breac, when treating of the festival of Saint
MacNissi, gives the following explanation of the word,
" Conderi i.e. fiaire-na-con, that is an oakwood, wherein
wolves used to be formerly, and she-wolves used to dwell
therein." The Church of Connor was founded about the
year 480, by St. Aengus, who was also called Caemhan Breac
(pronounced Kev-awn Brak), but is better known under the
name of MacNisi, — " the son of Nisi f a name, which, it is
said, was given to him because his mother was Cues, a lady

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 271

of Dal-Cethirn (Dal-kerin), a tribe located between Cole-
raine and Magilligan. Dun-Ceithirn (Dun-kehern), now
the Giant's Sconce, was named from their ancestor. A note
to the Calendar of Aengus, in the Leabhar Breac, gives a
legendary account of the origin of his name, —

"Mac-Cms Patraic, Son of Patrick's skin,* was he, for with Patrick
he was festered i.e. he used to sleep. t Coeman Brecc, son of Nissi,
son of Remainder, son of Ere, son of Eochaid Mundremar ; and
Fobrecc was his father's name. Oengus, moreover, was his first name. "

The festival of St. MacNissi is held on the 3rd of Sep-
tember, on which day Aengus enters in his Calendar —
Maclsissi co rnilibh (miliv),
0 Chonderibh marabh (moriv).
" MacNissi with his thousands from the great Conderi." It
is said that he was baptized by St. Patrick, and educated by
St. Bolcan, It is even stated, that he was consecrated a
bishop by St. Patrick, and appointed to the episcopal charge
of his own clan. St. MacNissi sought in the vicinity
of his Church of Connor, a place of holy retirement
where he might enjoy undisturbed meditation. Such a
practice was of very common occurance with the old Irish
ecclesiastics ; and the solitary place to which they withdrew,
was commonly called Disert — ' a desert.' There was a Disert
near the monastaries of Deny, Iona and Kells. We had in
the diocese of Down, Disert Ulidh, now Dundesart, and in
the diocese of Connor; Deshcart, called in ecclesiastical
documents, Deserta Vera. To such places they retired in

* Skin in this passage is used to express bed-clothes ; the story throws a curious
light on the domestic arrangements of our forefathers.

t I suspect that Crosskenrian, in the Parish of Antrim, is named from him. We
have seen that Coeman (Kevawn), assumed the form Kenan, in Kilkenan, in Island
Magee. (See p. 137). The townlands of the Parish of Antrim, formerly belonged
to the See of Connor (see p. 254), and therefore we might expect to find some place
in it handing down the memory of its founder.

272 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

imitation of One Divine Redeemer, and frequently increased
their ansterities by plunging themselves into some well or
river. That this was the practice of St. Patrick, St. Comgall
and our other great saints, all their lives attest. Bede>
writing of the abode of Drycthelius at Melrose, tells us, that
he selected such a place to which he used to retire, and as it
was located along the banks of a river, he used frequently
to castigate his body by plunging himself into its cold waters.
St. MacNissi found a place having all the requirements, in
the vicinity of his church ; for the monastry of Kells was
formerly universally known by the name of the Desert of
Connor. It was situated along the banks of the river,
which is now called the Kells Water, which flows through
the valley of Glen wherry. That river is called in the Ulster
Inquisitions " River Glan-curry." Of it the following legend
is related in an ancient " Life of St. MacNissi," published
by the Bollandists. " He commanded a river named the
Curi, that flowed past his monastery, called Desertum in the
Latin language, to flow by a more distant course, lest the
sound of it as it passed, might be h artful to the sick of the
place."* The church of Connor was ruled for several
centuries by ecclesiastics, who combined in themselves the
offices of bishop and abbot, when, however, it was thought
right to separate these offices, perhaps about the twelfth
century, a strange arrangement was entered into. The
bishop of Connor had the church of Connor as his Cathedral,
and enjoyed the rents of the lands attached to the small Sees
which had become incorporated in the See of Connor, but

* I have been informed by Mr. Robert Brown, of Kildrum, that
the traces of an earlier bed of the river, which was nearer to the site
of the church than the present bed is, are quite visible in the Bleach
Green.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 273

the Abbot had the Church of Desert-Kells, as an Abbey
Church, and had the rectorial tithes and the advowson of the
vicars in several of the churches of the old incorporated
sees. Thus the bishop had the rents of the sixteen town-
lands of Connor, of eight tuwnlands of Glynn, of the four
townlands of Dunean, of the four townlands of Drummaul,
of lands at Glenarm, of the townlands of Kilroot and
Kilkennan, in the Island Magee, while in each of these
Churches, the rectorial tithes and the advowson of the vicars
belonged to the Abbots of Kells.

The following entries occur in the Annals of the Four
Masters.

A.D. 513. The tenth year of Muircheartach (King of
Ireland), Saint MacNisi, i.e. Aenghus, Bishop of Coinnere
(Connor), died on the third day of November " (recte
September.)*

A.D. 537. St. Lughaidh (Looey), Bishop" of Connor, died."
The death of St. Lughaidh is entered at the year 543, in the
Cronicum Scotorum.

A.D. 558. " After that Diarmaid, the son of Fearghus
Cerrbheoil, had been twenty years in sovereignity over
Ireland, he was slain by Aedh Dubh, son of Suibhne, King
of Dal-Araidhe, at Rath-beag, in Magh-Line. His head was
brought to Cluain-mic-Nois, and interred there, and his body
was interred at Connor."

A.D. 612. " Condere (Connor) was burned."
A.D. 658. " Dima Dubh, Bishop of Connor, died on the
6th of January." The Annals of Ulster name him Dimain-
gert. He was a native of Minister, and belonged to the
Dalcassian line of the royal house of that province. He
was, when young, placed in the monastery of Colman-Ela,

274 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

at Lynally, in the King's County. We are told in the Life
of St. Colman, that he required his disciple to partake of
generous food, in order that his constitution might be able
to endure the fatigues, in which he was destined to be
engaged in after life. St. Colman's connection with Connor
and Muckamore was the occasion of Dima's settling at
Connor, and afterwards becoming its bishop. (See Father
O'Hanlon's, Lives of the Irish Saints.) Sir William Betham
in his Irish Antiquarian Researches, gives a drawing of
a book-shrine, which contained the Leabhar Dhimma ; of
portions of which he gives fac-similes. The box and manu-
script were preserved in the Abbey of Roscrea, until the
dissolution of monasteries, when they came into lay hands,
and eventually found a resting place in Trinity College,
Dublin. The MS. is seven inches long and five and a half
broad ; it contains, on seventy-four membranes, the Four
Gospels and the ritual for the Visitation of the Sick.
The Form, in this most singularly, curious, and interesting
manuscript, for the administration of the Sacrament of
Extreme-Unction is — Ungo te de oleo sanctificato in nomine
trinitatis, quod salveris in secula sozculorum. — " I anoint thee
with oil sanctified in the name of the Trinity, that you may
be saved for ever and ever." After some prayers the rubric
directs — Das ei eucharistiam dicens. — Corpus etiam Sanguis
domini nostri Jesu Christi filii dei vivi conservat animam
tuam in vitam perpetuam. " You give to him the Eucharist
saying — May the Body, and the Blood of our Lord Jesus
Son of the Living God, preserve your soul unto perpetual life."*
O' Curry has also given fac similes of portions of this MS.
one of which is that of a memorandum. Finit Oroit do

* We will give in the Appendix the whole of the Visitatio
Infirmorum.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 2(0

Dimmu roscrib pro Deo et benedictione. — " Finit. A prayer
for Dimmu, who wrote for God and for a benediction."
Though many think that the writer of this is Dima Dubh,
Bishop of Connor, there is no means of ascertaining the
truth of the conjecture, but it is beyond doubt, that the MS.
belongs to the period in which Dima Dubh flourished. He
was one of those northern Irish clergy, who appealed to the
Pope in the year 640, for his decision regarding the proper
mode of calculating Easter. The Pope died before their
letter reached Rome, but it was answered, a.d. 642, by
the Roman Clergy, in a letter, which is preserved in
Venerable Bede's History of the Anglo-Saxon Church. The
reply is addressed to the most beloved and holy Thomian,
Columban, Cronan, Dimma, and Bai than bishops; to Cronan,
Ernian, Laistran, Scallan, and Segienus, priests ; to Saran
and other Irish doctors and abbots." Thomian was Primate,
he died in 660 ; Columban was Bishop of Clonard, he died
652 ; Cronan was Bishop of Mahee-Island, in Strangford
Lough, and probably of the Diocese of Down, he died in
642 ; Dimma was Bishop of Connor, he died in 658 ; Cronan
was Abbot of Moville, near Newtownards, he died in 650 i
Ernian was Abbot of Torey Island ; Laistran is intended for
Laiseran, Abbot of Holy wood ; Scallan was Abbot of Bangor,
he died in 662 ; Segienus was Abbot of Iona, from 623 to
652 ; Saran died in 661. Dima must have reached a great
old age, at his death in 658 recie 659.

A.D. 665. "Eochaidh Iarlaidhe, King of the Cruithne,
died."

In MacFirbisigh's Fragments of Irish Annals. The death
of this king is given, under the year 664. He is styled
King of Dalaraidhe, and his murder is ascribed to vengeance
for a crime committed by his daughter. He was interred in

276 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Connor, and the poet, Flathir (Flahir), thus laments him in

Irish verse. —

This day distinguished the grave,

Of Eochaidh, son of Fiacha Lurgan,

In the earth of the Church of Coindeire,

"Which has received the great heat of his mouth.

Eochaidh has received one shirt,

In his grave-bed slaughtered ;

"Which has brought sorrow on every person,

Who is at Dun-Soibhairce (Dunseverick.)

A.D. 725. " St. Dachonna,* the Pious, Bishop of Con-
deire, died on the 15th of May," to which the Martyrology
of Donegal, adds " He was of the race of Eoghain, son
of Niall."

A.D. 773. Ainbhchealach, Abbot of Condere and Lann-
Ealla (Lann-Alla), died.

This is the first entry of an Abbot of Connor distinct from
a Bishop. The union between the monasteries of Connor
and Lynally, in the King's County, arose from the connection
created by St. Colman-Ella, who founded Lynally, and was
so venerated in Connor, that he was considered its second
Patron Saint.

A.D. 831. " The plundering of Rath-Luirigh (Maghera,
Co. Derry), and Condire by the foreigners (Danes)."

* Dachonna, I susnect, is the Cuiinin of Connor, who wrote a poem
in Irish, on the " Characterestic Virtues of Irish Saints." Do. —
*.' thy " and Mo. — " my " are prefixed before the names of saints by
the Irish to express affection. — " Thy Conna," I suspect, is Cuimin
of Connor, whose poem on the characterestics of some eminent Irish
Saints, is frequently cited by Colgan, and some of the stanzas were
translated by him into Latin. A metrical translation into the same
language was made by Philip O'Sullivan Bear, for the Bolandists.
A translation from the original Irish, made by O'Cuny, was
published by Rev. M. Kelly, D.D., in the appendix to the Martyr-
ology of Tallagh. Cuimin of Connor flourished, according to Colgan,
about the year 656.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 277

A.D. 865. " Oeghedhchair, (Eeyeychir), Abbot of Connor
and Lann-Eala, Bishop and Scribe," died.

A.D. 896. "Tibraide, son of Nuadhat,* Abbot of
Condaire, Lann-Eala, and Laithreach-Briun, died."

A.D. 917. "Maelene, son of Maelbrighde (Maelbreede,
' servant of St. Brigid),' Abbot of Lann-Eala and Condere,
and the glory of Ireland, died."

A.D. 952. " Flannagan, son of Allchu, successor of
MacNissi and Colman-Eala," died.

A.D. 954. " Maelbrighde, son of Redan, successor of
MacNeissi and Colinan-Eala, died."

A.D. 960. "An army was led by Flaithbheartach
(Flavartach), son of Conchobhar (Concho war), Lord of
Oileach (the Kinnel-Owen). into Dalaraidhe, and he plun-
dered Condere ; but the Ulidians overtook him, so that
Flaithbheartach and his two brothers, Tadhg (Tayg) and
Conn, and many others along with them were slain."

A.D. 963. " Joseph, successor of MacNeisi and Colman-
Eala/' died.

A.D. 968. "An army was led by the King of Ulidia,
Artghal, son of Madudhan (Maduyan), against the foreigners
(Danes), and he plundered Condere, then in their possession,
but he left behind a number of heads."

A.D. 974. " Conaing, son of Finan, Abbot of Condeire
and Lann-Eala, died."

A.D. 1038. " Cuinnen, Bishop, Abbot, and Lector of
Condere, successor of MacNisi and Colman-Eala," died.

" Maelmartain Cam, Lector of Condere," died.

* Laithreack-Briun, is now Larachbrien, near Maynootk. The
latter is entered in the Four Masters, under the year 1555, Magh-
Nuadhat (Moynooat), " the plain of Nuadhat (Nooat)," the father
of the Abbot. Many still pronounce the name Maynooat.

278 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

A.D. 1063. "Eochaidh UaDallain (Eochy O'Dallin),
Airchinneacli of Condere/' died.

A.D. 1081. O'Rovertay, Airchinneacli of Connor, died in
penitence (Ann. TJlt). The Four Masters substitute Louth
for Connor.

A.D. 1117. Flann UaScula (O'Scullion 1) Bishop of
Condere," died.

A.D. 1124. " St. Maelmaedhog O'Morgair (St. Malachy),
sat in the Bishoprick of Conneire."

A.D. 1174. " Maelpatrick O'Banan, Bishop of Condere
and Dalaraidhe, a venerable man, full of sanctity, meek-
ness, and purity of heart, died in righteousness in Hy
Columbkille, at a venerable old age."

This is the last entry in our native annals, regarding the
Church of Connor, previous to the English occupation of
the country.

Connor, in addition to its antiquity and ecclesiastical
character, receives a deep interest from its being the battle-
field of one of the greatest contests during the invasion of
Ireland, in 1315, by Edward Bruce.

The Counties of Antrim and Down were, previous to
that period, parcelled out among the English. The turbu-
lence of the Barons in England, during the reign of Henry
III., had induced the Kinel-Owen to hope that the time was
not far distant when they would be able to rid themselves of
such dangerous neighbours, but that hope continued to be
deferred, until at length the glorious victory of Bannockburn,
on the 25th of June, 1314, aroused among them an ambition
to shake ot the foreign yoke. Prince Donald O'Neill headed
the political movement, and Robert Bruce sent over his
brother Edward, who sailed from Ayr, on the 25th of May,
1315, with 300 gallies carrying 6,000 men, and landed at

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 279

Woking's Fryth, as the Scandinavians, and after them the

Scots, named Lame Lough. They, shortly afterwards, as

Archdeacon Barbour in a poem, written about the year

1375, records in the following archaic words : —

" Forowt drede or affray,
In twa battalls tuk thair way
Towart Cragfergus, it to se (see),
Bot the lords off that countre —
Mandweill, Besat, and Logane —
Thair men assemblyt euirilkane
The Sawages war alsua thar,
And quhen thai assemblyt war,
Thar war well ner twenty thousand. "

If we could rely on the statement of Barbour, near twenty-
thousand Anglo Irish under their lords, the Mandevilles,
Bissets, and Savages, assembled to meet the invaders, never-
the-less, " in that Battail, was tane or slane all hale the
Flur of Ullyster." The conquerers then made themselves
masters of Carrickfergas. Edward Bruce had not brought
supplies, and was consequently compelled to plunder the
country, which alienated the inhabitants from him ; and
starvation compelled him to move his army towards the
Pale. After a victory over the English, his adherents
crowned him King of Ireland, on a hill near Dundalk.
Afterwards Bruce marched into the woods of the present
County of Monaghan, while the Earl of Ulster, to punish
the defection of O'Neill, plundered all Tyrone. Bruce
afterwards marched his forces through the plundered terri-
tory, which now forms the counties of Tyrone and Derry, to
Coleraine, hoping no doubt to obtain provisions by sea, from
Scotland. The Earl of Ulster was in hot pursuit after
them, and to prevent him effecting a junction with his
vassals in the present County of Antrim, they broke down
the bridge over the Bann ; however, the Earl crossed the

280 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

river at some of the many fords, and burned all his own vast
estates, lest they would afford sustenance to the famished
Scots. The Earl collected all the provisions from the plun-
dered countries, and stored them up in Connor. In the
meantime, the Scots were no longer able to subsist on the
west of Bann ; and they were unable to cross the river ;
fortunately for them, a famous sea-robber, a Scot, sailed into
Coleraine with four ships, and carried them over the Bann,
into a portion of the country, which was unplundered.
Every movement of their's was watched by the Earl of
Ulster's army, which was well supplied with provisions,
brought daily under escort from Connor. The famous
Randolph, Earl of Murray, who had commanded the left
wing of Bruce's army at Bannockburn, succeeded in inter-
cepting the victual-bearers and the escort. He then clothed
his own men with the clothes and armour of his prisoners,
and advanced towards the army of the Earl of Ulster. A
party of the English who came out to meet the victual-
bearers, only discovered the stratagem, when Randolph and
his cavalry raised the Scottish battle-cry. In the fight and
pursuit, more than a thousand of the English were slain.
The Earl of Ulster withdrew his forces within the walls of
Connor, from which he did not venture to move till the 10th
of September, 1315, when, perhaps after receiving some
reinforcement, he marched out to attack the Scots. Bruce,
leaving his banners flying in the camp, placed his men in
ambush, and fell suddenly on the English, who being thrown
into complete disorder, afforded an easy victory to their
enemies. The Scots entered Conner almost without resis-
tance, where they found large stores of corn, flour, wax, and
wine. These they bore off next day to Carrickfergus, which
was then their head quarters, and where after this " ferd

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 281

tattle," Edward Bruce was " declarit King of Ireland," by
the native Irish and his own Scottish followers. We will
now leave the chivalrous King Edward and his more fortu-
nate brother King Robert, in order to relate the local
traditions regarding this invasion, which Mr. Benn collected
and published in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology.
According to these traditions, Edward Bruce, after landing
on the Antrim coast, maichsd southward to Mounthill, where
he encountered the English forces and suffered a severe
defeat. The Scots then entered the country of MacQuillan,
for the purpose of chastising that chieftain for the aid which
he gave to the King of England, in his attempt to conquer
Scotland. On arriving at the steep mountain pass, near
Glenarm, now called the " Path," they were met by
MacQuillan,* and a great battle ensued, in which the Scots
were victorious. Tn digging a drain on a farm called Solar,
which lies near the spot described, vast quantities of bones,
both of men and horses were found, which were supposed to
be indications of the battle. Tradition next relates, that
after this battle the Scottish forces passed through the
mountaineous districts near Slemish, with a view of attacking
Connor ; and the cairns at Carnave and Carnalbanagh, are
supposed to mark the places where the dead, slain in this
sanguinary engagement, were buried. The next place in
which the Scots make their appearance, according to local
tradition, is about a mile north of Connor. Here they were
obliged to remain for several months, to recruit their strength
after the losses they had sustained in the previous engage-
ments, before assaulting the City of Conuor. which was then
garrisoned by the English. Reinforcements having arrived
from Scotland, the invaders, under the command of a
personage called in the traditions, the Red Reiver, prepared

282 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

to attack the city. While one portion of the Scottish army
approached Connor from the north side, Edward Bruce with
another portion, marched secretly through a deep defile, about a
mile to the east at the head of a long valley, through which
the Connor-burn flows. The assault was directed by the
" Red Reiver," and after some fighting, the Scots apparently
gave way, and succeeded in drawing their opponents from
the city in pursuit. Retreating over some high ground and
an open valley, they made a stand od the face of a hill, in
the townland of Tannybrake, when a battle ensued. The
Scots were victorious, but the " Red Reiver,"* who makes
a great figure in all the local traditions, was killed, and the
spot where he fell is still pointed out. In the meantime,
Edward Bruce, when Connor was evacuated, and the battle
going on at Tannybrake, attacked the city and easily made
himself master of it. A hill, adjoining the defile, where the
Scots lay in ambuscade, was formerly called Bruce's Hill,,
and is even still so named, though now more generally known
as Ingram's Hill, from a blacksmith of that name who lived
on it in recent times. Evidences of the Battle of Tanny-
brake are also afforded by the names which still distinguish
several places near the site. One is the Houghan, said to be
so named from the blood having formed Houghs, or pools.
Another is Pow-Hill, or the hill of heads, and a third is the
graveyard.

Connor never recovered the effects of this disasterous war.

* William Wallace when forced by adverse fortune to fly for a
season from his enemies, met and vanquished at sea, a renowned
Norman pirate, called, from the colour of his ships sails, the Red
Reiver. A nephew of the pirate who was taken in the ship, attached
himself to the fortunes of Wallace, and accompanying him to Scot-
land, became afterwards a general in Bruce's army. This no doubt
is the " Red Reiver," who fell in the Battle of Tannybrake.

THE PAEISH OF CONNOR. 283

The only fragment of the presumed city is an inconsiderable
fort, or raised work, usually described as the place where
the citadel formerly stood. It is more likely that it was
the site of the bishop's castle. The elevation, on which it
stood, is ten or twelve feet above the level of the adjoining
ground, and encompassed by a stone wall. There was
formerly around it a deep fosse, which is now partially filled
up. Within memory an old building stood on this spot,
which served as the Session House and School House of the
Presbyterian Congregation of Connor. It had been pre-
viously the site of the mansion of the celebrated Dr. Colville.
Quite close to the trench of this fortfication on the eastern
side, is the ancient Holy Well, now entered on the Ordnance
Map, " Spa Well."

A number of caves discovered in the vicinity of the site
of the Cathedral of Connor, testifies to the importance of the-
place in its remotest times. They are situated close to the
Church of Connor, part of them being covered by the
burying ground ; and a local tradition affirms, that a passage
proceeds from one of them directly under the church itself.
One cave is divided from the rest by the intervening river.
These caves are of the usual class, built of undressed stones,
without any mortar. The walls are corbelled in to support
the roof, which is composed of large flattish stones. The
depth of soil at present covering the top of the caves, varies
from four to fifteen feet. Each cave is about 16 or 18 feet
long by 5 feet wide and 5 feet high. They are connected by
low narrow passages, not more than 18 inches square. One
of the roofing stones in one of the caves, stands out about
three inches below the general surface of the roof, and has
on it some curious markings, so regular as almost to induce
the belief that they are an inscription of some sort. — See

"284 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

article by Sir J. Lanyon, Ulster Journal of Archaeology r,
Vol. VI. — The present Protestant Church which occupies
the site of the Cathedral, was built in 1818. Previous to
its erection, a portion of the cathedral, probably the southern
transept, for it is described as having stood north and south,
having been re-roofed and thatched with straw, was used by
the Protestants as a church. In 1358, Patrick Olynnan
was Vicar of the Cathedral Church of Connor — Reg. Prene.
In the Taxation of Po]je Nicholas, the Church of Coneria is
valued at 1 Mark. The Terrier enters, " Ecclesia Cathe-
dralis de Connor, in Temporalibus, hebet 16 in Feodo, in the
same villa. The Abbot of Kellis hath the personage ; ye
Vicar pays Proxies, 10/-; Refections, 10/-; Synodals, 2/."
This entry is corrupt, owing to the inaccuracy of transcribers,
yet we see from it, that 16 townlands were held in fee as
temporalities of the church, that the rectory of the parish
was appropriate to the Abbey of Kells, and that the Abbot
appointed a Vicar, who had to pay large sums for Proxies
and Refections. The Visitation of 1622, reports " Ecclesia
de Connor, decayed. Rectory impropriate to the Abbey of
Kells, possesst by the Lord Threasurer (Chichester)." In
the Return of the See Lands of Down and Connor, on the
1st of March, 1833, from the Parliamentary Report,
published by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the Trustees
of the Earl of Massareene, are returned as holding 2355
acres under the See by a twenty-one year lease, with the
usual implied covenant of renewal, at the yearly rent of
£96 18s 5jd, and a renewal fine of £287 13s lOjcL The
property held under this lease is described as " all the terri-
tory and manor of Connor, comprehending 16 townlands
{except 30 acres near the Church of Connor, and the Meeting
House farm and tenements), all the Courts-Baron, Courts-

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 285

Leet, Yiew of Frank Pledge, &c, also the Bishop's quarter
of the tithe fishiDg of Coleraine, being at the Great Leap,
near Coleraine, and thence to the Bann-mouth, also that
part of the tithe fishing of the River Bann, belonging to the
Bishop in right of the See of Connor (Baronies of Antrim
and Toome)." The same document reports, that the Dissent-
ing Congregation of Connor held the Meeting House farm
of Connor from the see under a similar lease, at the rent of
X3 17s 6|d, without any Renewal Fines.

The territory, comprised in the sixteen townlands, forms at
present fourteen townlands, viz : — Sculboa (Sculoe in the
Down Survey), Barnish, Carncome (Carncam), Carnearny
(Carnery), Ballycowan (Inshycowan), Castlegore (Cassilna-
gore), Connor, Ross, Tardree (Ardry), together with
Artnagullian, Forthill, Lisluman, Max wells walls, and
Whapstown, which represent the older names on the Down
Survey of Duneany, Cragankell, Ballymacgennan, Crew,
ganiftbran, and Aughless ; it contains according to the last
survey, 9,890 acres, the Poor-Law valuation of the land
and houses of which, amounted to £5,369 15s Od.

The extent of the ancient cathedral could yet be traced by
portions of the foundations which still remain under the
surface of the graveyard. The foundations of a round tower
are under the surface, 50 feet east of the east window of the
present Protestant Church, according to a statement made to
the present Rector. Canon Fitzgerald, by the man — still
living — who removed parts of it that were above ground.
Canon Fitzgerald has a Holy Water Font, which he found
near the site of the western gable of the old cathedral ; he
has also a stone belonging to some arch, which exhibits a
beautiful specimen of Irish Romanesque ornament, and a
fragment of an Irish Cross, on which are sculptured the usual

286 DIOCESE OP CONNOR.

groups of figures carved on Irish Crosses. It was until a
few years ago appropriated as a grave-stone, but it had the
misfortune to offend by its Popish emblems, the religious
susceptibilities of some of the local zealots, and it was broken
into many fragments. Canon Fitzgerald, however, has had
it restored so skilfully, that its injuries can scarcely be
observed. A stone, 36 inches long, 19 inches wide, and
about 6 inches thick, had been used in the construction of a
bridge leading to the Manse of the Presbyterian Minister of
Connor, and had evidently been taken either from the
Cathedral, or from the Abbey Church of Kells, both of which
were long used as quarries for supplying building materials
to the entire vicinity. The stone is at present preserved in
the grounds of the Manse. Along its edge runs a Latin
inscription in Irish letters, of the ninth or tenth century,
Fratres orent pro nobis. . . . At the distance of 67
perches N. W, from the site of the cathedral, formerly
stood a great funereal mound, in which an urn was found
protected by large stones. The mound which was in the
townland of Lisnawhiggel, and close to the Kells Water, has
been removed to make way for the Kells Railway Station ;
the Signal Post on the Larne side of the station, occupies
the site of the centre of the mound.

The Village of Kells is separated from that of Connor, by
a small river, called the Connor River, which runs into the
Glen whirry River, — the Abhan Curi of the Irish, which is
now generally known by the name of the Kells Water. The
early history of the great monastery of Kells as being incor-
porated, to a great extent, with that of the cathedral of
Connor, has already been given. At an early date the
Abbey passed under the rule of the Regular Canons of St.
Augustine. A deed of confirmation (circa, a.d. 1190), from

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 237

the Primate to the Prior of Neddrum, is attested by " F.
Abbas de Desert." In the roll of the Pope Nicholas Taxa-
tion, the " Temporalities of the Abbot of the Desert of
Connor," are valued at £8 6s 8d. In the year 1542,
Murtough MacAnnullowe, the Abbot, was seized of the
temporalities and spiritualities of the eight adjacent town-
lands, and of the tithes of ten other townlands, and the
rectories and advowsons of Teinpleoughter, in or near Glen-
arm ; Glynn ; Kilkenan, in Island Magee ; Bally namanach ;
Dundermot ; Ros-relick ; Connor ; Drummaul ; Duneane ;
Kilroot.

An Inquisition taken, April 6th, 1621, found that James
1st, by his letters patent, bearing date 20th July, in the
third year of his reign, had granted to Sir James Hamilton,
at the rent of 42/- , Irish, the site, circuit, and precincts of
the late Abbey, or religious house of the Blessed Virgin
Mary of the Desert, otherwise Kells, together with eight
townlands, and all the tithes and rectories belonging to the
Abbey. This grant, which was taken on trust for Sir
Arthur Chichester, was assigned to him by Hamilton, on
the 4th of April, in the following year. The Terrier enters,
"The Abbey of Kells, Proxies, 40/-; Refections, 20/-;
Synodals, 2/-." The territory called in the grant the eight
townlands constitutes at present the nine townlands of
Lisnaw higgle, Cornaughts (Ballycarnake in the Deeds),
Crvillyvally (Corrballinbilly), Appletee (Avilly), Kildrum,
Tullynamullen, Ballymacvey, Ferniskey, and Kells (called
in the Deeds the Town of the Monastery of Templemurry).
It is probable that Kildrum — ' Church-hilP — and Kells
constituted formerly only one townland. Chichester made a
temporary lease to Cahil O'Hara, of Crebilly, of the eight
townlands, and the tithes of the same, together with the

288 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

tithes of the six townlands, belonging to the Manor of
Keart, but included in the ancient parish of Kells, viz : —
Bailee, Crorokill (Bally cromkilly in the Deeds), Kilgad,
Slaght, Tawny brack, and Tullygarley (alias Grenoge) ; and
in 1629 Cahil O'Hara resided inKildrum. After that lease
expired Arthur, Viscount Chichester, afterwards Earl of
Donegal, demised, in 1654, to Dr. Alexander Colville, in
consideration of ,£200, the lands and tithes, for 51 years, at
the rent of £50 per annum, binding him to pay £3 to " a
good and sufficient curate." Robert Colville, son of Dr
Colville, purchased, in 1692, the fee simple of the lands,
together with the tithes, for £1,300, binding himself to pay a
rent of £50 per annum, and " to keep a good and sufficient
curate to perform Divine service in Templemurray, and to
pay said curate £3 yearly for his stipend and allowance."
When afterwards, " the good and sufficient curate " could
not live on that stipend and allowance. Kells became united
to Connor, and the Prebend of Connor received the allowance.
Sir Robert died in 1697, and was succeeded by his son,
Hugh, who died in 1701, leaving a son, Robert, who died in
1749 without heirs, and a daughter, Alice. She married, in
1719, Stephen Moore, Esq., afterwards Viscount Mountcashel,
and succeeded, on the death of her brother, to the Colville
estates. In 1851, the Commissioners of encumbered estates,
sold the estates of Stephen, Earl Mountcashel, which he had
inherited from his great grandmother, Alice Clotworthy.
Carnaght and Kildrum — rental, £385 9s 8d, were purchased
by Mr. Gray, of College Green, Dublin. Tullynamullin —
rental, £223 9s lOd, was purchased by Mr. Casement for
£5,100. Ballymacvea — rental, £251 13s 3d, but sold
subject to the head rent of the entire estate, viz: — £46 3s Id
(£50 Irish), and curates stipend, £2 15s 4d (£3 Irish), was

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 289

purchased by Mr. Casement for £5,100. Ferniskey — rental,
£354 0s Od, purchased by Mr. Casement for £6,850 0s Od.
Kells — rental, £291 15s 4d, purchased by Mr. Gray for
£7,200. The sale of Crevillyvalley and Appletee was
withdrawn for the want of bidders. Lisnawhiggel was sold
to the Misses Nicholson, who re-sold it, in 1883, to the
tenants.

"In 1808," says Dr. Reeves, "a bill was filed by Lord
Mountcashel for the recovery of the impropriate tithes of
Kells, in which was the deposition of Daniel Monaghan, who
declared that he recollected to have heard his maternal
grandfather, Murtogh Dillon, say, that he was eleven years
old at the Wars of Ireland, namely, the Rebellion of 1641,
and that he had seen the Monastery of Kells, after its
dissolution, and before it was untirely unroofed. The west
gable is the only part of the building which remains ; it
stands at the entrance of the burial ground which is entirely
used by the Roman Catholics of the neighbourhood, and is
commonly called Templemurry, or Templemoyle." The
former name signifies " The Church of Mary," and the latter
" The Bald or Ruined Church " — and ruined and neglected it
is ; a mill-race, which drives a beetling mill, is cut through the
graveyard, within a few feet of the site of the north side-
wall, and geese are housed in the tomb of the O'Haras.

Mr. Robert Brown, of Kildrum, has a portable altar-stone,
which has the usual five crosses. It is of basalt and
measures 13 inches by 10 inches, and is 4 inches in thick-
ness. Its general appearance will be better understood by
a drawing of it, which Mr. W. H. Patterson, M.R.I.A.,
presented to the Royal Historical and Archreological
Association of Ireland, at its meeting held in Ballymena,
August 1st, 1883, and which will be published in its

290 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Journal. The altar-stone was found near the site of an
ancient church. The church was situated in C re villy valley
in a field, in Mr. John Hanna's farm, called Chapel-Field,
in which coffins and headstones were found, but everything
which would indicate its former use has been removed.
A bridge near it is called Chapel-bridge, and a well, at a
short distance from it, in Mr. Allan's farm in Tullynamullan,
was called Holy Well. It is now dried up, in consequence
of a road being made close to it at a lower level.

The late Dr. Denvir had an ornament in brass, carved
into the form of a bishop's mitre, which was found in the
graveyard of Connor.

Among the collection of Irish Antiquities exhibited, a.d.
1852, in the Belfast Museum, was an "Ancient Tomb-stone
from the ruins of the Abbey of Connor, Co. Antrim, with an
inscription in the Irish language (from C. Walkinshaw,
Esq., Forthill, Bally mena.)"

At p. 286. The Destruction of a fragment of an Irish
Cross is attributed to ignorance and bigotry ; that statement
was made on information supplied from local sources. Since,
however, that page was printed, the accuracy of the state-
ment is contradicted by a person of the highest respectability,
who writes that the old cross was placed as a headstone at
the grave of the late John Thompson, as for ages it had
marked the resting-place of his family. " This John was
one of the few old people known to this generation, who
lived through the '98 times, and, who was looked on by his
* Orange • neighbours as always a ' Croppy.' His house is
well worth a visit, as although large and roomy, considering
its antiquity, it has the fire in the centre of the kitchen floor
— old Scotch fashion" — A few years ago the Hector, for the
better preservation of the stone, removed it from the grave

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 291

of this respected Presbyterian family to the Sacristy of his
Church. When the daughters of old John Thompson
could not, even by legal means, recover the stone from
the Hector, it is thought that some of their numerous
Presbyterian friends, through mistaken zeal for their interest,
broke into pieces the ancient fragment.

Shilvodan is a grange extending over seven town lands,
which contain 3,547 acres. There are no remains of a church
or graveyard in the grange, but it is believed, says Dr.
Reeves, that the latter formerly existed in the townland of
Tavnaghmore. In that townland there is a circular fort,
slightly raised, and 75 feet in diameter ; in it the bodies of
unbaptized children and homeless persons were formerly in-
terred. There are no grave-stones in it, and only a few graves.
" It is thought that this was not an ancient burying-ground,"
says the Ord. Survey Mem. MS. The site of the ancient church
of the grange is well-known and the enclosure of the burying-
ground remains intact, except on the north side, where the
road from Randalstown tu Kells has been driven through it,
and the people relate that the road contractor met a violent
death. The site is used as a stack-yard by Phelim M'Keowin.
The Terrier enters, " Ecclesia de Shilbodan of Muckamore,
hath no glebe, pays Proxies, 5/- ; Refections, 5/- ; Synodals,
2/-." An Inquisition, taken at Joymount, Carrickfergus, in
the 18th year of James I., found " That the Church of
Silvodan, in the County of Antrim, is the church of a parish
which contains seven townlands.'' The names of the town-
lands are only variations of the present names, except that
the modern townland of Tobernaveen is represented in the
Inquisition by the townlands of Ballecreamy and Ballykill-
ganey. The Inquisition of 1605, found that the Prior of
Muckamore enjoyed the tithes of the Chapel of Solwoodan, in

292 DIOCESE OF COXNOR.

the Tuougli of Munter-Rividy, and was bound to maintain a
curate therein. Colgan gives, at the 23rd of March, a Life
of St. Boedan, Abbot of Kill-Boedan, and introduces into it
a passage from the Life of St. Corbmac, to the following
effect : — St. Boedan followed his brothers from Munster into
the North of Ireland, and after he remained with them
some time, he set out to the more distant parts of Ulster,
where he was kindly received by the race of Sodan, son of
Fiacha Araidhe, who were then powerful in Dalaradia. He
erected there a church called Kill Boedan, which the race of
Sodan endowed with rich possessions, especially the noble
families of the Kinel-Decill, the Clan Scoba, and the Shil-
noiridhin, who selected him as their patron saint. In
process of time the family of the Kinel-Decill transferred
their devotion to St. Cuan and Saint Colman, but the other
two families still continued to placs themselves under the
protection of St. Boedan. At length, however, the descen-
dants of Tomultach went even so far as to change the name
of his church, calling it Kill-Oscoba, instead of Kill-Boedan.
Dr. Reeves thinks that this Kill-Bodan might possibly be
Shilvodan ; but Shilvodan is obviously the race of Bodan,
not the church of Boedan. It is most likely that the church
referred to by Colgan, under the name of Kill-Boedan was
somewhere in the Aids, where so many churches were de-
dicated to St. Cuan and to St. Colman. It may have been
in some of the townlands called Bally wodan ; perhaps Bally-
wodan, in the parish of Ardquin — " the Hill of St. Cuan,"
which is called in an ancient document Kiel Bodan, for
Kill Bodan. — (See Beves's Feci. Antig., 166.)

There is an artificial cave in Tavnaghmore ; the sites of
seven of these subterranean structures in the Grange are
known, two of which are in Eskylane. In this townland

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 293

there is a hemispherical mound, or tumulus, constructed
solely of earth. It is 9 feet high, 78 feet in diameter at the
base, and is encompassed by a ditch 10 feet wide and 4 feet
deep. Besides this mound, there are 15 earthen forts, or
raths in the Grange, occupying generally conspicious positions.
12 of them are circular, 2 of them are nearly so, and one is
square. The ruins of an ancient and spacious mansion of one
of the families of the O'Neills, are still to be seen in the
townland of Tavnaghmore. — See Ord. Mem. MS.

CHURCHES.

Previous to the erection of the Chapel of E-andalstown,
the Catholics of the district, which forms the present parish
of Antrim* heard Mass at various places, many of them

* The Catholic population, in 1881, of the district constituting the
Catholic Parish of Antrim can be approximated thus : — In the civil
parish of Shilvodan, Catholics, 244 ; total population, 976. Parish
of Muckamore, Catholics, 107 ; total population, 1077. Parish of
Antrim, Catholics, 728 ; total population, 3683. In all these civil
parishes Catholics, 1079, out of a total population of 5736. To this
is to be added the population in the portions of the civil parishes of
Drummaul, Connor, Donegore, Templepatrick, and Nilteen, which
belong to the Catholic Parish of Antrim, viz : about 178, out of a
total population of about 6,000. There are, therefore, about 1257
Catholics, out of the total population of 11,736.

The Returns made by the Protestant ministers of some of these
parishes, in the year 1766, as directed by the House of Lords, are
preserved in the State Paper Office, Dublin Castle. Patrick Bennet,
Vicar of Donegore and Kilbride, writes, " No reputed Popish priest
or Friar in either of the two parishes. Families — Protestant
Established Church, 6 ; Dissenters, 346 ; Papists, 6. The popu-
lation of these parishes in 1881, consisted of Catholics, 49, all others,
2889. The return from the Parish of Antrim, in 1766 is— Protestant
Families, 421 ; Papist Families, 84. In 1881 the population of
Antrim consisted of, Catholics, 728, all others, 2,955. The return
from the Parish of Templepatrick in 1766 is —Protestant Families,
327 ; Papist Families, 6. In 1881 the population of the Parish of

294 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

distant three or four miles from the town of Antrim. One-

of those was at a place called Tornarush in Drumsough ;

that place was selected, because it was near the residence of

a Protestant farmer, named Hill, whose family befriended

the Catholics ; and it is said that the priest lodged in his

house. This farm-house adjoins, on the west side, the

Cookstown Junction Railway Station. . Another Mass

Station was in Kilbegs, on the site, where afterwards, in

1811, was made the Milltown Cemetery. Persons still

living were present when Father M'Auley said Mass at the

wall of the cemetery, or under a tree on the old race-course,

at Magillstown, between Antrim and Shanescastle. In

In 1818, Father Bernard M'Cann commenced to collect

funds to erect a chapel in Antrim, the foundation of which

was laid on the 19th of November, 1818. Father M'Auley,

who was appointed parish priest in the following February,

erected the chapel, which was consecrated, on the 19th of

June, 1820, by Dr. MacMullan. The sermon on the

occasion was preached by Father M'Auley, and the

collection amounted to £80. That chapel was replaced by

an entirely new church, erected by Father O'Loughlin,

which was consecrated by Dr. Dorrian, on the 30th October,.

1870, when the sermon was preached by Monsignor Capel,

of London. The collection amounted to £700.

Templepatrick consisted of Catholics, 98, all others, 312S. The
Minister of Bally nure reports in 1766— "No priest or friar resides
in the parish, nor Mass said, in the memory of man now living in it.
Protestant Families, 383 ; Papist Families, 8— John Devenney,
Peter Campbell, Owen M 'Clean, John M'Callum, Arthur Connolly,
Arthur M'Anully, Bryan Black, and John M'Quillan." In 1881
the population of the Parish of Ballynure consisted of — Catholics,
115, all others, 2,834. The returns from the adjoining parishes are
probably lost.

THE PARISH OF ANTRIM. 295

Father M'Auley, and perhaps his predecessors, celebrated
Mass for the Shilvoden Congregation, on Drumkierin Hill,
a little above the site of the ancient church of that Grange.
Father Curoe continued to celebrate Mass in the same place,
until the erection of the present church, which is about a
quarter of a mile distant from the site of the ancient church.
In March, 1828, Fortescue Thomas W. Gorman, Clk.,
demised to Thomas Madden, of Tannaghmore, the site of the
present Church in Tannaghmore East, or as it is called by
the people, Tamlaghtmore. Thomas Madden transferred the
site to Father Curoe, who, on surrendering the lease, ob-
tained a lease renewable for ever, at the yearly rent of 2/-
and a renewal fine of 1/-. On this site, Father Curoe
erected the present church, which was dedicated under the
invocation of St. Macnissius, in the year 1831.

PAKISH PRIESTS.

The Parish of Antrim formed a portion of the united
Parish of Drummaul and Antrim, until 1873, when, on the
surrender of the parish by Father O'Loughlin, the union
was dissolved, and Father Blaney was appointed the first
parish priest. (For the Parish Priests of the United Parish,
see Drummaul.)

The Rev. William Blaney was a native of Ballywalter, in
the Parish of Bailee, County of Down. He studied in the
Diocesan College, from which he entered the Logic Class, in
the College of Maynooth, August 27th, 1850 ; was ordained,
November 7th, 1855, in the chapel of the Convent of Charity,
Stephen's Green, Dublin, by Dr. Whelan, Bishop of Bombay ;
officiated as Chaplain to the Convent, Crumlin Road,
Belfast, and afterwards as Curate of St. Patrick's, Belfast ;
was appointed in October, 1866, the first Administrator of

296 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

St. Peter's, Belfast, from which he was appointed, June 8th,
1873, Parish Priest of Antrim, where he died November
26th, 1876; he was interred in Miltown Cemetery, Belfast.
Father Blaney was succeeded by Father Alexander
MacMullan. He is a native of Seavaghan in the Parish of
Loughinisland ; studied in the Diocesan College; entered the
Rhetoric Class in the College ot Maynooth, on the 8th
of October, 1845 ; was ordained by Dr. Whelan, in Claren-
don Street Chapel, Dublin, on the 3rd of May, 1851 ; was
appointed Curate of Cushendall, on the 7th of June, 1851 ;
Parish Priest of Bathlin, on the 4th of March, 1853 ; Parish
Priest of Coleraine, on the 28th of October, 1856 ; and Parish
Priest of Antrim, on the 26th of February, 1877. He was
appointed to the Parish of Duneane, on the 28th of July,
1883.

Father MacMullan was succeeded by the Bev. Eugene
M'Cartan, P.P., Cushendun, who is a native of the town-
land of Burrenreagh, in the Parish of Bryansford. He
studied in the Diocesan College, from which he entered, on
the 26th of August, 1848, the Logic Class in the
College of Maynooth ; was ordained in Clarendon Street
Chapel by Dr. Whelan, in October, 1852 ; officiated as
Curate in the Parishes of Kilcoo, Newtownards, Cushendall,
Loughguile, Kilmore, Lisburn, and Bright ; was appointed,
on the 20th of February, 1871, Parish Priest of Cushendun,
from which he was appointed, on the 28th of July, 1883, to
the Parish of Antrim.

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL.

:>XX<

DRUMMAUL, in the Catholic arrangement, includes the
Civil Parish of Drummaul, except a part of Shar-
vogues, which is united to the Catholic Parish of Antrim ;
the Townland of Ballybollen, which now is united to the
Catholic Parish of Ahoghill ; and the detached townlands of
Bally nacraigy, Ballynaleney, and Portlee, which are now
united to Dunean. The Townland of Creggan, and a part
of that of Derryhollagh, belonging to the Civil Parish of
Dunean, and the entire Civil Parish of Cranfield are in-
corporated in the Catholic Parish of Drummaul.

We have no record to inform us when the stronghold of
Shane's Castle was erected ; its erection, however, may
be attributed with some degree of probability to the English,
as the Irish seldom erected stone fortresses. The Annals of
the Four Masters mention it under the name Edan-dvhh-
Cairrge — " the black front, or brow of the rock." A.D.
1490. " The Castle of Edan-dubh-Cairrge, i.e. the Castle of
Niall, the son of Con, son of Hugh Boy, was taken and
demolished by Felim, grandson of Niall Boy ; and the same
Felim committed great depredations on the sons of Con, son
of Hugh Boy, and slew Godfrey O'Maelcraoibhe." The
name of the castle is anglicised Edenduffcarrick in the Ulster
Inquisitions and other official documents. It was also called
Castle Moubray. It was one of the castles, the possession of

298 DIOCESE OF CONXOR.

which formed a bone of contention between Secretary Smith
and Essex, who agreed, at least, in a desire to rob
the Irish.

"Memorandum by Secretary Smith, May 26th, 1573. My Lord
of Essex standeth upon this point as appeareth. That except he
may have of me Belfaste, Masserine, Castle- Moubr ay, otherwise
called Edendoucarg and Castle Tomey (Toome) ; that he will not
meddle with the enterprise of Ireland. Bather than that his good
enterprise should be left off. Although they be the most special
places, both for beauty and picturesque effect in all Clanyboy, and
the strongest in scyte — yet rather than that should hinder this so
honourable a voyage, I am content that my Lorde shall have them
of me, and of my son, to him and his heires for ever freely, upon
conditions such as my Lord hath already granted (as I take it), that
is, to discharge the Queen's Majesty's rent, which is 20s. Irish,
yearly, of Irish plowland, which maketh English acres ccliii. and
when he hath possessed Clanyboy, to give grant and deliver freely
to my son and his heires of his body, and for default of such issue to
my right heirs, either the same castles and territories or so much
other lands within Clandeboy, such as we and our heirs shall choose,
as all those castles and territories of them do amount unto, and in
the meantime to pay unto us for every c. acres, English, of these
territories xll. English. The said castles and territories also to be
the confines betwixt my Lord of Essex and Clanyboy and ours. All
north from thence to be my Lord's, all south to be ours without
contradiction. The territory of Belferst (Belfast), to be accounted
from the river of ferst, a mile and a half north, and from the same
and the Bay of Knockfergus, west, two miles all the same breadth.
The territory of the pories (priory) of Masserine to be from the park
where the Abbey stood a mile north and a mile south, keeping the
same breadth, and two miles east and as much west from the said
castle. The like territories to be of Castle Mowbray —Castle Tome,
standing upon the Lough Eagh, must have a mile south, measuring
by the Lough, and a mile and half north by the river of the ban,
then eastward taking the same breadth towards Castle Mowbray
four miles. And if it do fall out in the measure, there is more
distance betwixt the said Castles east and west, yet that space shall
be to either castle equally divided, and my Lord shall pay nothing
for that, but only be bound to trench and make a plain and known
partition on the south side of all these territories. " — State Papers,
Original M.S. Vol. xi. No. 66, Ireland, Elizabeth.

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 29 &

Thus these two adventurers intended to settle the diffi-
culties arising from the patents, in which the Queen's.
Government had, through ignorance of the locality, granted
the same lands to each of them, but it pleased God to dis-
appoint both of them. Twenty years afterwards, viz : — In
the year 1597, a report submitted to the Council, showed
that adventurers did not quietly enjoy the shade of their
vine and 6g-tree in many parts of Ulster ; it sums up —

" So that from sea to sea beyond Dundalk, namely from Karrick-
fergus, in Clandeboye, to Ballyshannon, in Tyrconnell, there is no
part that standeth for her Majesty except Karrickfergus, the Newrie,
the Fort of Blackwater, and the Cavan in the Breny, which are held
with strong and chargeable garrisons to her Majesty ; besides three
or four forts or Castles in Clandeboyes and Lecall, namely, Belfast,
Edendoghe-Carricke, Olderfleet, and Dondrum, all which are main-
tained by wards.

The modern name Shane's Castle is commonly supposed
to have been given to it by French John O'Neill, but it is
frequently mentioned by that name before it came into the
possession of French John — thus Richard Dobbs, in his
Brief e Description of Antrim, written in the year 1683, says
of Randal, Marquis of Antrim — " He was a proper clean
lymmed man, first married to the Duchess of Buckingham,
and after to Rose, daughter of Sir Henry O'Neill, of Shane's
Castle, now living." The place was, no doubt, so-called
from Shane, whose father, Sir Brian MacFelim, was treache-
rously taken prisoner in Belfast, by Essex, and afterwards
foully put to an ignominious death. This Shane, who also
gives name to Broughshane, appears on the Roll of Parlia-
ment of James I., held in 1613, as one of the members for
the County of Antrim, by the name and address of " Shane
M'Brien O'Neill, of Shane's Castle," but he never attended.
The extensive demesne of Shane's Castle, which contains

300 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

nearly 2,000 acres, extends for miles on both sides of the
River Main, but the mansion was destroyed by fire on
Wednesday evening, May 15th, 1816. The newspapers of
the day say —

" The fire, from what we are able learn, was purely accidental.
About eight o'clock, Lord O'Neill and some friends, who were at dinner
with him, were alarmed by the report of fire having broken out in one
of the chimneys in the northern extremity of the castle. They imme-
diately repaired to the spot, but the passage was so filled with smoke,
that they were unable to discover the seat of the fire, until the
flames were seen bursting through the windows of a room on the
third storey. Prompt and strenuous exertions were instantly made
to extinguished it, but without effect. The flames rapidly increased
and in a few minutes enveloped the whole of that wing, and were
presently seen breaking in volumes through the roof. It was then
judged expedient to remove the plate and papers of value ; for the
effecting of which, his lordship issued instructions with a composure
and presence of mind that successfully guided the exertions of his
friends and dependants to extricate what was most valuable-
Nothing could exceed the awful sublimity (if we could so express
ourselves) of the scene ; the horizon for miles round presented an
appearance similar to that witnessed in a summer's morning, before
the sun first bursts upon the view ; whilst the extensive waters of
Lough Neagh, displayed a sheet of living flame, reflecting upon the
eye of the beholder, the steady blaze of the burning pile. The hills
and rising grounds for miles round, were covered by spectators who
beheld with profound and stupified astonishment, the terrific fire
which raged with such violence, that before two o'clock in the
morning, a pile of smoking ruins was all that remained of the ancient
and magnificent mansion of Shane's Castle, which had braved the
storms of so many hundred years." — Newty Commercial Telegraph.

Not far from the Castle is a small burying ground, with
the history of which we are unacquainted. In it rest the
remains of the inhabitants of a village which once stood in the
vicinity, called Shane's Castle, or Edenduff-Carrick. The
village was thought by the owners of the Castle to be too close
to their princely mansion, hence its destruction. The cemetary

THE PARISH OF DRUM MAUL. 301

contains a vault which is the last resting place of many
of the former owners of Shane's Castle. On a stone on the
gable end, the following inscription is rudely engraved : —

This Vault was

built by Shane (1) Mac

Brien (2) Mac Phelim (3) Mac

Shane (4) Mac Brien (5) Mac

Phelim (6) O'Neill, Esquire

in the year

1722, for a burial place

to himself and family

of Clanboy.

The O'Neills, of Shane's Castle, played so important a part
in local history, that we feel called on to give a succinct
account of the different owners of that estate. Our account
is taken principally from a series of Papers, which appeared
from the pen of the late Charles Henry O'Neill, Esq.,
Barrister-at-law, Dublin, in the columns of the Belfast
Mercury. Sir Brian MacFelim Bacagh O'Neill was Prince,
or Chief, of Lower or North Clannaboy, when, in 1514,
he was treacherously seized in Belfast by Essex, and after-
wards foully murdered. At the same time his brother,
Hugh, whose great-grandson commanded King James's
dragoons at the Boyne, was lord of the territory of Kilultagh.

1— Shane, commonly called " French John." 2— Brien married Elenor Magennis,
died, 1705. 3— Phelim, commonly called " Phelim Dubh," married Sheila O'Hara ;
he died in 1677. 4— Shane died in 1619. 5 — Brien married first to a daughter of
Sir Arthur Magennis, afterwards to Ann, daughter of Brian Carragh O'Neill, he was
murdered by Essex in 1574. 6— Phelim, his death is recorded in the Four Master*,
under the year 1533, "Phelim Bacagh, the son of Niall, son of Con O'Neill, died."
The last of the family who was interred in the vault was John, first Viscount
O'Neill, who was killed at Antrim, in 1798. but his remains were removed by his
son, the last Viscount, to a vault erected by Earl O'Neill in the graveyard of Ran-
dalstown Protestant Church. Earl O'Neill having removed the village of Edenduff
Carrick, proceeded at the close of the year 1815, to root out the old graveyard. The
frequent funerals and the Caoine, or Irish Cry, so close to his Castle, gave him
annoyance, but the outcry raised by the relatives of those interred there, caused
him to abandon the project and a great part of the old graveyard still remains
intact.

302 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Sir Bryan had two sons, Shane MacBrian and Con Mac-
Brian; the latter became lord of '\Feevagh," a territory between
Bandalstown and Toome. Shane, who succeeded hiin in the
possession of Edenduff-Carrick, or, as it was called from him
Shane's Castle, left five sons and two daughters ; the
sons were Sir Henry, Arthur, Phelim Duff, Hugh, and
Shane Oge. His eldest son, Sir Henry, inherited Shane's
Castle, married the daughter of Sir Francis Stafford,
who had been Governor of Ulster, in the reign of
Elizabeth, and became a Protestant, He had three sons
and two daughters, all of whom were insane, except
Bose O'Neill. By his will he devised the Shane's Castle
estates, consisting of the Munterevedy, the Feevagh,
the Largy, and the Braid estates to his daughter Bose, and
" the heirs, male, of her body ;" and, on failure of such issue,
to his brothers, Arthur, Phelim Duff, and Hugh respectively,
and to the heirs, male, of the body of each successively, and
in failure of such issue, to Brian MacHugh Oge, the re-
presentative of his uncle Con, the son of the Brian, who was
pat to death by Essex. Sir Henry died in 1638, and his
only sane child, Bose O'Neill, married Bandal MacDonnell,
Marquis of Antrim. She acquired thereby the Castle, lands,
and ferry of Toome, Moneyglass and other lands in the
neighbourhood, which the Marquis had obtained in 1666,
from Charles II., subject to a quit rent of <£9 8s lid. But
the Marchioness of Antrim, Lady Bose O'Neill, did not, on
her marriage, part with any of her own estates ; and by
letters patent of Charles II., these lands and her own estates
were granted to her and her heirs for ever, and were erected
into manors. The territory of Munterevedy into the Manor
of Edenduffcarrick. The territorv of Feevaodi and Mullagh-
gane and Toome, and other lands were erected into the "Manor

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 303

of Mullaghgane," the territory of the Largey, or Munterkelly,
into the Manor of Caskell; and the territory of Muntermurri-
g&n,alias Le-B raid, and the lands Knockboynebraide,into the
"Manor of Backna." Power was given to the Marchioness and
her heirs for ever, to hold in said manors, Courts Baron and
Courts Leet, appoint seneschals to hold pleas of action for debt,
&c, not exceeding .£20; to erect prisons, to enipark 2,000 acres
for a deer park ; to hold a weekly market and two fairs at
Broughshane. She also obtained the incorporation of Ran-
dalstown, which she named after her husband. She died at
Shane's Castle, without issue, April 27th, 1695. Her uncle,
Arthur O'Neill, who had married Grace, daughter of Cahall
O'Hara, was dead, but had left two sons, Colonel Cormac
O'Neill, who never married, and Captain John O'Neill, who
died in London, in 1687. This Captain John left three sons,
Henry was drowned, in Dublin Bay, when he was coming to
claim the estates; Ensign Arthur, who was killed by the popu-
lace of Mechlin, in FJanders, for throwing from his hotel a
glass of wine at the Blessed Sacrament, as it passed in pro-
cession ; and Colonel Charles O'Neill, who succeeded to the
estates on the death of his uncle, Colonel Cormac, already
mentioned. This Colonel Cormac O'Neill who was first
cousin of Lady Rose, resided at Broughshane. raised a regi-
ment for King James II., in which regiment the greater
number of officers were his own kinsmen and namesakes,
and with his friend and cousin, Sir Neal O'Neill, who com-
manded James's Dragoons, fought for that Monarch against
the Prince of Orange, afterwards William III., at the Boyne,
<fcc. After the treaty of Limerick, he emigrated with the
" Brigade " to France, from whence he was allowed to return
to Broughshane, where he died, on the 10th of December,
1706, and was interred in Skerry. Colonel Charles was a

304 DIOCESE OF COKNOR.

staunch adherent of the House of Hanover ; an ultra-Pro-
testant, and detested all Catholics so much that he would
not permit a Catholic to be employed as a servant in his
house. He died, without issue, in 1716. The issue of Sir
Henry and of his second brother, Arthur, being then extinct,
the estates passed to French John, who was grandson of
Phelim Duff, the third brother of Sir Henry. French John
was the son of Brian of the Largey, the son of Phelim Duff.
He resided, in early life, with his father in Largey, and
afterwards went to Paris, where he resided for many years,
hence he was called " French John."* After his return from

* The following Memorandum was written by French John
O'Neill :—

" THE DEATH OF MY RELATIONS AND PARENTS.

"My granduncle, Sir Henry O'Neill, died at Blackhall, in 1638,
near Streed-Le-Bow, in England ; was brought into Ireland, and
buried in the Church of Carrickfergus the same year.

"I know not when my father, Brien O'Neill, died, but I believe
it was in the year 1669, he was buried in the Church of Skerry.

" My grand-uncle, Arthur O'Neill, Esq., died in the year 1678,
and was buried in the Church of Skerry.

"Dame Martha O'Neill, relict of Sir Henry O'Neill, and daughter
of Sir Erancis Stafford, died at Bally magarry, in April, 1678, lay in
state in Edenduffcarrick, and was buried in the Church of
Carrickfergus.

" Captain John O'Neill, second son of said Arthur O'Neill, died in
the year 1687, in London, and was buried in St. James's there.

" My grandmother O'Neill, alias O'Hara, died in Edenduffcarrick,
in the year 1690, and was buried in the Church of Skerry.

"Ensign Arthur O'Neill, second son of said Captain John O'Neill,
was murdered by a mob in Mechlin, in Elanders, in 1694, and was
buried in or near the town.

" Rose O'Neill, Marchioness of Antrim, relict of Handle, Marquis
of Antrim, and daughter of Sir Henry O'Neill, died at Edenduff-
carrick, on the 27 th of April, 1695 ; lay there in great state, and
was buried iu as great state in the Church of Carrickfergus. on the
4th of July following.

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 305

Paris, which occurred during the lifetime of the Marchioness,
he resided at Dunmore (afterwards occupied by the family

" Henry O'Neill, Esq., eldest son of said Captain John O'Neill,
was drowned in the Bay of Dublin, coming from England, in the
year 1696, and his corpse was never found.

" My mother, Eleanor O'Neill, alias Magennis, died on the 7th of
February, 1704, and was buried in the Church of Skerry.

"My sister, Martha O'Neill, alias Hagan, died at Dunmore, the
14th of February, 1704, and was buried in Cranfield.

"Colonel Cormack O'Neill, son of said Arthur O'Neill, Esq., died
in Broughshane, the 10th of December, 1706, and was buried in the
Church of Skerry.

" Major Con Magennis, my double cousin-germ an, died in Brough -
shane, the 26th of February, 1713-14, and was buried in the Church
of Skerry.

"Charles O'Neill, Esq., third son of Captain John O'Neill, died
the 20th of May, 1716, in London, and was buried in St. James's
Church there.

" My brother-in-law, Captain Arthur O'Hagan, (1) Died at Ardboe,
the 17th of September, 1717. He was brought to Cranfield, and
buried there beside my sister.

" My brother-in-law, Kobert Dixon, Esq., died in Dublin, the 5th
of March, 1725-6 and was buried in Kilcullen Church in the County
of Kildare.

"My wife, Charity O'Neill, alias Dixon, died in Edenduffcarrick,
the 30th of November, 1726, and was buried in my own vault there

" DEATH OF MY FRIENDS.

"Bandle M'Donnel, Lord Marquis of Antrim, died at Bally -
magarry, the second or third of February, 1682-3 — lay in state there,
and was buried on the 14th of March following, in the vault at
Bonemargy.

(1.) The tomb-stone of Capt. O'Hagan lies broken over his grave in front of the
door of Cranfield Church. On the stone is incribed " Here lyeth the body of Arthur
O'Hagan, also his wife, Martha O'Hagan, daughter of Brian O'Neill, of the Largey,
who departed this life, the 14th of February, 1704.'' Lord O'Hagan is descended
from the brother of Captain O'Hagan. I gave to the late Charles H. O'Neill, Esq.,
Barrister, Dublin, sml.O.U. for £500, from French John O'Neill, to his "dear brother,
Captain Arthur Hagan." I obtained the 7. 0. V. and a large wax seal of Charles II.
from the late Mr. Adams, of Portglenone, who told me that the seal was attached to
a parchment document (probably connected with the O'Neill Estate), which he cut
up to fasten trees to a wall, and that he formerly had many such documents whic
he used for a similar purpose.

U

306 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

of Dickey) which now forms a part of Shane's Castle
Park, and is situated on the west of the Main Water.
At first French John had little prospect of succeeding

" Sir Neal O'Neill was wounded at the battle of the Boyne, in
1G90. near Slane, was carried to Dublin, and from thence to
Waterford, where he died of his wounds, by the negligence of
his surgeons. (2)

" Alexander M'Donnel, Earl of Antrim, brother to the Marquis,
died at Thistleworth, near London, in the year 1699, and was buried
at Holywell, in Wales.

" My old comrade, Major Charles Stewart, of Ballintoy, died in
London, about the midst of November, 1710, and was buried in St.
James's Church.

"Captain Edmund Stafford (3) died in Portglenone, in August, 1713,
and was buried in the Church of Ahoghill, by whose death I lost a
kind, dear friend.

" Clotworthy Skeffington, Lord Viscount Massereene (the first of
that Christian name), died in the Castle of Antrim, the 13th o
March, 1713-14, and was buried in the Church of Antrim.

"Captain William Shaw, my old comrade, died at Bush, on the
3rd of November, 1719, and was buried at Templepatrick.

" Randle M'Donnel, Earl of Antrim (son of Earl Alexander), died
in Dublin, in October, 1721, and was buried in Christ's Church
there.

"Joshua Dawson, Esq., died the 12th of March, 1725, at Castle-
dawson, and was buried in his own chapel there, by which I lost a
very kind, dear friend.

' ' Colonel Clotworthy Upton, died at Castle Upton, the 8th of
u 1725, and was buried in Templepatrick, by which I lost a
good friend.

" My old friend, Mr. James M'Cullough, died at Grogan, the 19th
of July, 1725, and was buried in Old Drumall.

" My old schoolfellow and comrade, Henry M'Culloch, Esq., died
the 16th January, 1728-9, and was buried in Old Drumall.

"Charles Campbell, Esq., died at New Grange, the 29th of
October, 1725, by which I lost a very good friend.

(2.) Sir Neal O'Neill, see Boxen and Connor, Vol, ii., p. lxxiv.

(3.) Captain Edmund Stafford was the great grandfather of the Duke of Wellington,
and the uncle of the late John MacNaghten, of Benvarden, father of Edmund
Alexander MacNaghten, II. P., and of Sir Frances Workman MacNaghten, of Roe
Fark, in the County of Londonderry.

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 307

to the O'Neill estates ; however, by the death of his
predecessors without issue, he became the owner of them
in the year 1716. He had three sons, Henry, Charles, and
Clotworthy, and several daughters. Henry, his eldest son,
who died in 1721, displeased him by his marriage with a
portionless lady, Miss Bickerstaff. By this marriage one
daughter, Mary O'Neill, was born, who married the Bev^
Arthur Chichester, and from her is descended the present
proprietor of the O'Neill estates. In 1735, French John
settled the estates on his son Charles and his issue, and on
failure of such issue, to Clotworthy, his third son, and after-
wards to the issue of his other children, entirely excluding
the issue of his son Henry. His third son, Clotworthy
who resided at Gortgole, obtained from him, in 1735, a lease
of the townland of Aughnahoy, as the executors of Neal
O'Neill then lately held the same, for his life, or 31 years
from 1734, at the yearly rent of ,£20. This, with a small
pecuniary legacy, was the only provision his father made for

"William Conolly, Esq., (4) died in Dublin, the 30th of October,
1729, and was buried in great state at Cellb ridge, alias Kildroghad,
in the County of Kildare, by which I lost a special good friend.

" Eachel Hungerford, Viscountess Dowager Massareene, relict of
the above Lord Viscount Massareene, died in Antrim Castle, the 6th
of January, 1731, and was buried in the Church of Antrim, by which
my family lost one of the best of friends.

" My kind friend, Brigadier-General Richard Kane, alias O'Cahan,
died the 28th of December, 1736, in the Island of Minorca, of which
he was Chief Governor for the King of England.

"John O'Neill.

"N.B. — That having misplaced my notes, I entered Henry
M'Culloch before Charles Campbell."

John Shane Frankagh) O'Neill, Esq., who has left the foregoing,
died at Shane's Castle, the 2nd day of April, 1739, and was buried
n his vault there.

(4) William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, and the father of the
Right Hon. Thomas Conolly, of Newtown! imavady, in the County of Londonderry.

308 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

him ; but his brother Charles afterwards treated him more
generously, and gave him leases at nominal rents of " the
Gortgole property," and of other townlands. He was High
Sheriff for the County of Antrim in the year 1735, and in
the year 1746 he raised and equipped, at his own expense,
a company of fifty volunteers, unmarried men, all six feet
high, natives of the County, and reputed to be the strongest
men in Ulster. He took the command of these at Bally-
mena. He died unmarried in 1749. His father, French
John O'Neill, died at Shane's Castle, April 2nd, 1739, and
was interred in the vault erected by himself. On his death,
his second son, Charles, called " Protestant Charley,"
succeeded to the estates. He was excessively fond of the
favourite sports of the period ; he was a leading member of
the " Feevagh Cockfighting Club." He died on the 7th of
June, 1769, on the old race-course of Broughshane, from
excitement at the success of his favourite " Poddreen Mare,'*
so called from Mr. O'Neill being in the habit of stringing the
beads of an old lady from the Largey round the neck of the
mare before she started on the race-course. She is said
never to have lost a race, and she died on the same day as
her master. His eldest son, John O'Neill, succeeded him in the
Shane's Castle estate; and his second son, Mr. St. John
O'Neill, resided at Portglenone Castle.

Mr. John 0'.Neill, who was one of the representatives in
the Irish Parliament, for the borough of Randalstown, was
most energetic in his efforts to put down the " Hearts of
Oak," and the " Hearts of Steel." These were armed bands
of men who administered unlawful oaths, dictated terms as
to rents and tithes to the proprietors, and perpetrated many
outrages. The " Hearts of Oak " were excited into rebellion,
in the year 1763, by a remnant of the feudal system, known

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 309

by the appellation of the six clays labour, and by a Grand
Jury Cess, which they deemed excessive. They collected
together several grand jurors, brought them to the Commons
of Armagh, and swore them not to exceed a farthing an acre
cess for public roads, and not to levy any money for private
roads. The " Hearts of Steel " took up arms in consequence
of the new letting of portions of Lord Donegall's estate.
They burned houses, "houghed cattle" and levied'contributions
for the support of the association. From aggrarian outrages
these movements assumed a sectarian character, and many
acts of cruelty and plunder were perpetrated. The supremacy
of the law, however, was soon vindica ted. Nine of them
were executed at Carrickfergus, but numbers of them
escaped to America, where they became the most determined
enemies of British rule. Mr. O'Neill took an active part in
the Volunteer movement.

Lord Charlemont, on the 17th of July, 1787, reviewed on
Broughshane Moor, " the Charlemont Union," or brigade
consisting of the regiments of the Bight Hon. John O'Neill,
and Colonel Jones — 2,000 strong. John O'Neill represented
the county of Antrim for several years in Parliament and
was elevated to the peerage of Ireland, 30th November, 1793,
as Baron O'Neill, of Shane's Castle, and advanced to the
dignity of Viscount O'Neill, on the 6th of October, 1795.
His lordship married in 1777, Henrietta, only child of
Charles (Boyle), Lord Dungarvan, and grand-daughter of
Charles 5th, Earl of Cork and Orrery, by whom he had two
sons, Charles-Henry St. John, and John Bruce Richard.
Lord O'Neill was killed by the insurgents at Antrim, on the
17th of June, 1798. Charles Henry St. John O'Neill
succeeded his father ; he was created Viscount Raymond and
Earl O'Neill in August, 1800. His lordship died unmarried

310 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

25th March, 1841, when the higher honours became extinct,,
and the Viscounty, with the family estates devolved on his
brother, Viscount Baron John Bruce Bichard O'Neill, the
last of his name who possessed Shane's Castle.

His Lordship was a lieutenant-general in the army. H&
died unmarried, February 12th, 1855. We mentioned
above that Mary O'Neill, the daughter of Henry, the eldest
son of French John, married the Vicar of Drum maul, the
Bev. Arthur Chichester, the grandson of the Hon. John
Chichester, second brother of Arthur, second Earl of
Donegall, Earl O'Neill, by means of fines and recoveries,
barred the entail and devised the estates after the deaths of
his brothers and others mentioned in his will, to the Bev.
Edward Chichester, grandson of Mary O'Neill, with remainder
to his eldest son, the Bev. William Chichester, who, by virtue
of that will succeeded, on the death of Viscount O'Neill.
Mr. Chichester assumed, by Boyal licence, the name of
O'Neill, and was shortly afterwards promoted to the peerage.
He has been succeeded by his son, the present Edward
Chichester, Lord Baron O'Neill.

The river Main, which plays so important a part in the
interior drainage of the county, receiving the Bavel at
Glaryford, near Bundermot, and the Owen Curi, or Kells
Water, at Ballyandraid — ' the town of the bridge,' falls into
Lough Neagh, near Shane's Castle, at a place anciently called
Rubha Mena — ' the point of the main.' The Four Masters
record under the year a.d. 228. " The foreigners (Danes)>
i.e., those under Torolbh, took up their station at Loch
Eathach (Lough Neagh), and had their camp at Bubha Mena."
Dr. Beeves, in a note to " A dam nan's Life of Columba,"
says, that Bubha (Buwa), signifying ' a point of land,' is
much more frequent in Scottish than Irish topography.

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 311

The river is called in the Antrim Inquisition of 1605, Owen
Myn, and in Dy mock's Treatise of Ireland, the Myn- Water.
Dunminning, situated along the banks, seems to preserve,
though in a corrupted form, the ancient name.

Randalstown,* situated in a beautiful and richly wooded
portion of the glen, or vale of the Main, was formerly from
that circumstance called Main- Water. Iron-works were
formerly in operation on the Main- Water, but in conse-
quence of either a want of fuel, or a deficiency in the supply
of ore, they were discontinued. Irish-speaking people named
the town Muileann-iarainn — " the mill of iron." Rose

* Moving Bog of Randalstown. — " This bog is generally known by
the name of Slogan or Sluggan Bog. It is one of the largest in the
County of Antrim, measuring upwards of fifteen hundred acres. On
Saturday night, September, 19th, 1835, the inhabitants were alarmed
by repeated loud reports, in some measure resembling thunder, and
which they soon discovered to proceed from the bog. Shortly after
the immense mass began to move, and taking a N.W. direction
spread over about fifty perches of the Mail Coach Road, on which it
now lies, ten to fifteen feet deep ; passing the road on an inclined
plane, it moved on to the river Main, into which it flowed. The
water and mud soon formed a channel of about twelve feet deep in
the centre of the part that was moving ; and is at this date (Oct. 5th)
still running, and having nearly dammed up the river Main, which,
at this place is of considerable breadth and depth. A good deal of
damage has been done, upwards of thirty acres of land are com-
pletely covered, one house is nearly so ; the tops of corn stacks and
hay ricks are scarcely visible. It is reported that the birds and
hares fled from it as fast as possible on hearing the first noise. The
bog underwent to some extent a similar convulsion in November,
1810. This occurrence is evidently to be attributed to water lodged
beneath the peat which lies on a stratum of blue clay, impervious to
water, so that when any large quantity of water accumulated below,
it must of necessity force up the bog, as it evidently has done in the
present instance, the bog being now, through a vast extent, full of
great rents, filled with water. " — Dublin Penny Journal, and Northern
Whig, Oct. 5th, 1835.

312 DIOCESE OP CONNOR.

O'Neill, who was the only sane child of Sir Henry O'Neill,
the eldest brother of Shane (No. 4 of the vault), was the
heiress of her father, and married .Randal MacDonnell, the
second Earl and first Marquis of Antrim. Rose named
the town Randalstown, in honour of her husband. Charles
II., by a Charter of September 15th, 1683 —

" According to a Commission of the 14th of March, in the same
year, in consideration of a fine of £200, from Rose, Marchioness of
Antrim, and according to an agreement and orders of composition of
the 2nd and 4th of August, granted to her the Manor of Edenduff-
carrick, &c. , and further appointed, ordained, and declared that the
town of Ironworks, alias Main- Water, with its rights, members,
and appurtenances within the said Manor, should be called for ever
by the name of the Borough of Randalstown, and by that name he
constituted it a free borough, and granted that the said borough and
the greater number of the inhabitants of the said town, and their
successors for ever, should have authority to return two Members
to the Parliament of Ireland. And he further granted to the in-
habitants and their successors, that the sheriffs, &c, of Antrim, to
whom writs of election were directed, should make precepts to the
seneschal of the Manor of EdendufT-carrick, for electing and
returning the burgesses."

It does not appear that any corporation was constituted.
The borough limits included a narrow strip of land along
the west side of the Main, and are still recollected. It
possessed the right of sending two members to Parliament and
was formally, or professedly, a potwalloping borough, but was
practically the private property of the proprietors of Shane's
Castle estate, and the whole of X15,000 of compensation for
disfranchisement at the Legislative Union was paid to
Charles Henry St. John, Earl O'Neill. In the war of the
Revolution the town was the head-quarters of the Earl of
Antrim's forces, who marched hence for the siege of Deny.
In the disturbance of 1798, a body of insurgents attacked
the town, burned the market-house, and continued masters

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 313

of the place till the approach of Colonels Clavering and
Durham, on the evening of the same day, when they
retreated to Toome-bridge.

Drummaul Church was dedicated under the invocation of
St. Brigid ; it was valued in the roll of the Taxation of Pope
Nicholas at 40s. The lands of this church belonged to the
bishop, and the rectorial tithes and the advowson of the
vicar belonged to the Abbot of Kells. In 1458, according
to the Kegistry of Primate Prene, Patrick M'Erewyn was
Vicar. In 1488, Michael M'Gremayn was Vicar of the
Church of " Sanctce Brigidoe de Druimaula." — Reg. Octav.
The Terrier enters, " Ecclesia de Drunirnalle hath 4 towns,
Erenoth lands, ye Vicar pays proxies, 20s. ; refections, 20s. ;
synodals, 2s. O'Hara hath it for Lord Deputy." In
another copy, " Hugh M'Clernon hath it for Lord Deputy.'
The Lord Deputy was Sir Arthur Chichester, who had
obtained a grant of all the possessions of the Abbey of Kells.
The Visitation Book of 1622 reports — "Ecclesia de Drom-
awley decayed ; Bectory impropriate to the Abbey of Kells,
possest by the Lo-Treasurer ; Vicarage possessed by Hugh
M'Lerrenan, Vicarage rated at 10s, by estimation, <£3*
Hugh M'Lerrenan serveth the cure." The parish church of
St. Brigid stood in the townland of Drummaul — the bald or
bare ridge — a portion of the east gable still remains in the
graveyard. About 50 feet from the eastern gable is the Holy
Water font, a square stone, flat on the surface, having a
cavity 9 inches in diameter and 5 inches deep. The site
of the Protestant Church in the townland of Dunmore never
was occupied by a Catholic structure.

The see lands of Drummaul consisted of the townlands of
Caddy, Coolsythe, Drummaul, and Tamlaght. At the period
of the compilation of the Terrier, about a.d. 1615, these

314 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

lands were held by Sir Thomas Philips, as tenant under the
see. According to the Return of the See lands of Down
and Connor, 1st of March, 1833, as published in the Parlia-
mentary Report, the four townlands of Drummaul were
held under the See by Lord O'Neill, at the annual rent of
£38 15s 4|d, and a renewal fine of .£88 13s 9d. The
lease was for 21 years, with the usual implied agreement
that it would be renewed every year. Charles H. St. John,
Earl O'Neill, states in the 4th codicil to his will, dated Feb.
29th, 1840, that he had recently purchased the freehold of
the four townlands of Drummaul, which were formerly held
by him under lease from the Bishop of Down and Connor.

The rectorial tithes, which were collected for the benefit of
Lord Donegall, amounted to £546 6s 6d. ; he presented the
Vicar, for whose benefit vicarial tithes were paid, to the
amount of £450.

The following is the summary of the Ordnance Mem. MS. :
" There are in the civil Parish of Drummaul, 39 raths or
forts, and within memory as many have been destroyed by
the farmers. The most perfect are those in Shane's Castle
Park, within the confines of which, there are no less than
fifteen of these; three are remarkable for form or situation.
Dunmore is situated on a very steep bank overhanging the
River Main on its right. This fortification consists of an
oval shaped mound, raised to an elevation of about 24 feet
above the ordinary level of the bank. Adjoining the
southern side of this, but less elevated by 30 feet, are the
traces of a square fort, adjoining this is a circular fort, 25
yards west of the latter are two little mounds, raised about
2 feet above the adjacent ground. Several other circum-
vallations testify to the former importance of this stronghold.
At a distance of a mile and three quarters to the south of it,

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 315

there is another fortification on the summit of the river
bank, consisting of an oval fort, and a circular fort ) and 680
yards further down, and, on the opposite side of the river,
are the remains of a very large fort, which has been much
mutilated. Artificial caves are very numerous, there is not
a townland, except such as is mostly covered with bog, that
did not contain one or more, though many of them have
been destroyed within memory. There were two in Barnish
near the " Giant's Grave," which were destroyed about the
year 1819 ; there is one in each of the townlands of Caddy,
Ballytresna, Drumsough, Craigmore, Feehoge, Procklis, and
Shane's Castle Demesne. On the summit of a rising ground
in the townland of Barnish, about a quarter of a mile to
the right of the road from Antrim to Randalstown, are the
remains of a tumulus, called sometimes " the rock," and
sometimes the "Giant's Grave." It seems originally to have
consisted of a circular cairn of small stones, enclosed by a
row of large ones, occupying the summit of the knoll ; inside
there seems to have been other rows of enormous stones,
which, however, do not now retain any regular form. Near
the centre are the remains of "The Grave," measuring in
extreme length 18 feet, and in breadth in the inside only 9 J
inches. It is formed of large slabs laid longitudinally on
their edges ; they vary in height on the inside from three to
four feet. At the eastern end of the " Grave," stands a
large upright slab 6 feet high, 5 feet broad and 15 inches
thick. The stone at the western extremity of the " grave "
has been removed. An irregular row of large stones,
perhaps from 2 to 3 tons each in weight, extends from the
eastern extremity of the " grave," to the remains of the
cairn. About 1819, a Standing Stone 6 feet high, 3 feet
broad, and 1| feet thick, was removed from the western end of

316 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the " grave." There is a Standing Stone 4 feet high, 2 feet
broad on one side, and 2 feet 4 inches on the other, on the
summit of a hill in Muckleramer. Near the summit of Craig-
more Hill, there is a rock, or large stone, shaped somewhat
like a chair, on which the name of the ''Giant's Chair" has
been conferred. About 1832, a man named Adam Davidson,
found in a field in Aghaboy, 30 copper rings, each 1^ inches
in diameter, and linked together ; stone and bronze spears,
hatchets, &c, are frequently found."

In the roll of the Taxation of Pope Nicholas, the Church
of Cranfield, under the name of Crewill, is valued at h
Mark. The entry in the Terrier is, " Crawmkill hath four
towns in Erenoth land, and but one towne more in the
parish. Shane M'Bryan (O'Neill), hath the land. It pays
Proxies, 20 Groats; Refections, 20 Groats; Synodals, 2/-."
The Visitation Book of 1662 enters, " Ecclesia de Cramchill
decayed. The second part of all tithes belong to St. (John
of) Jerusalem." The ruins of the church, which are in a
very good state of preservation, measure 37 feet 4 inches, by
15 feet 9 inches in the clear. They stand in the grave-yard,
which is much used by the people in the vicinity. About
half a mile to the north, stands an ancient black oak cross,
which was probably set up as a ternion mark, as it is erected
at the extremity of the parish. The ancient cross is much
mutilated ; one of its arms, it is said, was carried off by a
person named "Woods, who, after some time i*eturned it, it
is thought, on account of the remorse which he felt for his
sacrilegious act, when, however, it was returned, it was
found that one end of it was burned. That arm, which was
then placed beside the cross, has long since disappeared.

About one hundred yards to the west of the Church, is
Cranfield Well, of which Colgan speaks as " that miraculous

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 31 T

spring which is near the Church of Cream choill." The
manner in which Colgan writes the name, enables us to
perceive the meaning of the word — Creamh-Choill — "a wild-
garlic wood." Richard Dobbs in writing in 1683, on
Remarkable Wells in the County of Antrim, says —

" But the well that gives much occasion of discourse in this County,

is Cratifield Well, in the parish of Cranfield, hard upon the edge of

Lough Neagh, and on the north side of the Lough ; the Irish in

great numbers frequent it on May day. It is a weak spring, and as

I take it, the ground belongs to the Bishop. Out of this Well are

got on May Day in the morning, small transparent stones with

several squares, pointed sharp, if not broken in the getting, like

amber, but brittle, and will not suffer a file or other polishing, than

what is natural, and appears artificially polished. These stones,

tradition delivers to rise and spring up, and so to be found only on

May Day in the morning, and so it is generally believed, and believed

by most of the Irish and many other people ; the virtues of the

stones (if the Irish speak true), are many ; as, that a man shall not

be drowned that has one of these about him, that a woman having

this, shall have easy and safe labour in child-bearing, which may

have approved either by experience or fancies, and imagination will

work wonders ; that a house in which one of these is, will not be

subject to take fire by accident, nor to be . . . by thieves —

Cum multis aliis ; yet I have been an eye-witness of these stones

being got here in July, which was thus : — We employed an Irish

girl (for such live hereabouts), about 13 or 14 years of age, used to

the trade. She first laved (with the help of a boy), the water out of

the well at the entrance, and the hole being made pretty dry, she

crept in and went stooping out of our sight, while scraping with her

hands, fingers, and nails, she raised some of the rotten rock or gravel

in the bottom of the hole, which bringing out in the dish, or delivering

to the boy, who was behind her in the hole, he handed the dish out,

and amongst the gravel we could find sometimes one, sometimes 2 or

3 of these stones, and sometimes none at all ; upon which considering

whence they might come, and observing well the place about, I found

all to be a sort of dark grey rotten mouldering rocky ground, and so

into the Lough which beats near the well, and my opinion is that

these stones may be got any time in Summer, especially in dry

weather, when the Lough rises not too high or the well be not too

318 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

over-pressed with water from the upper grounds, and that they are
in the rock, and rise as that is broken or raised ; that if any should
take the pains to sink into the rock near the well, and as low (which
I think is little above 4 or 5 feet from the surface of the earth), the
matter would be out of dispute. I have had stones sent from a
friend that was some time Governor of the Isle of Byffin, much of
the nature and shape of these stones, and of the very same substance,
but clear like Ice or Ising-glass. These, I was told, were broken or
beaten out of rocks, that lay in the sand, at low water, when the
tide was out. Mr. John Osburn, who was concerned for the Marquis
of Antrim's creditors, and lives in Dublin (if he remembers), can
give you a relation of an odd experiment made by his wife (since
dead). I think it was on the occasion of a violent flux of blood,
either upon herself or some neighbours, and the cure was done by
putting a Cranlield stone into some burnt Claret, and so drank by
the afflicted party. I know she had one of these stones from me,
especially desired by her when with child, being subject to hard
labour in child-bearing, and has told me she thought herself much
better of them."

Richardson says in his Great Folly of Pilgrimages written

in 1727 ;—

" At Cranfield, in the County of Antrim, there is a south running
spring of common water, said to be consecrated by St. Colman, a
famous Irish Saint. Pilgrims go to it on May eve ; they empty and
clear the well in the twilight, stay all night about it, saying a certain
number of Paters, Aves, and Credos. In the morning they find
small transparent stones, of an amber colour, in the bottom of the
well, which (if you believe them) grew there the night before, and
will preserve those that carry one of them about them from any loss
by fire or water. These stones are to be found there at any time,
yet the natives thereabouts will not be convinced of it. "

A writer in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary, says, that
great numbers assemble on June 26th, 27th, and 28th, to
perform stations round the ruins of the church, and to drink
and wash in the waters of the well, which is supposed to
have been endued with healing properties by St. Olcan^ who
is traditionally recorded to have been buried here in earth
brought from Home, and in which are found the amber

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 319

coloured Cranfield stones. These stones are crystals of
gypsum, they are much prized by persons emigrating from
the locality to America. The stations have been discontinued
since about the year 1828,

These confused traditions do not contribute much to enable
us to discover under the invocation of which of the saint s
the church of Cranfield was dedicated. Colman Proinntighe
or of the refectory, according to the Calendar of Donegal,
was honoured on the 26th of June, on which day stations
used to be made at Cranfield; and a St. Colman, according
to Richardson, is said to have blessed the well, but we cannot
find what connection either St. Colman, or St. Olcan had
with Cranfield. According to the Calendar of Donegal, the
festival of St. Ernin, of Cremchoill, the old name of Cran-
field, was held on the 31st of May.

A writer in the Belfast Magazine says, — " The pilgrims
assemble on the 27th, 28th, and 29th of June ; they go
barefooted thirteen times round the walls of the church, and
an equal number of times round the well, they drink of the
water and wash in it." The present local tradition is that
the stations were performed on any day from May Eve (Old
Style), to the 29th of June. According to the same local
tradition, the order of performing the Cranfield Stations, was
as follows : — The person performing it collected seven small
stones of the common class — (not Cranfield Pebbles)* — with

* It is probable that in former ages, instead of the common stones
now used, the Cranfield Pebbles, which were then more easily pro-
cured, were used for counting the prayers, and hence they obtained
the sacred character with which, in popular estimation, they are
invested. The common observer may look on the Cranfield Pebbles
as a mere superstition, but the Church Antiquarian will find the
practice of counting prayers by stones, one of the most ancient in
the church — long antecedent to the use of Beads. Palladius, who

3 20 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

which he was to count " the rounds ;" then kneeling at the
door of the ruined church he said, Our Father, Hail Maryr
and I believe in God. He then, saying the prayers of the
Rosary of the Blessed Virgin, walked slowly round the
north, the east, the south, and west sides of the church, until
he came to the dooi*, and there he dropped one of the stones.
These slow movements round the church, he repeated seven
times, dropping one of the small stones each time he arrived
at the door. He next collected seven other small stones and
made seven similar "rounds " round the well, repeating the
same prayers that he had said when going round the church
This ceremony was repeated, on three consecutive days, but
for a reasonable cause be might make the 21 " rounds " around
the church, and the well respectively, on the same day.
"When the '"'rounds" were completed, he carried water from the
well, with which he washed, for no bathing has been practised
at Cranfield, at least of late.

lived in the fourth century, tells of a certain abbot who used to
repeat the Lord's Prayer 300 times every day, and who secured a
correct enumeration of repetitions by dropping small pebbles into his
lap. So it would seem the Cranfield Pebbles are the original Beads,
as introduced by St. Patrick. Alban Butler, in a Note at October 1st,
says, — "As for the use of beads, the ancient anchorets and others
frequently counted the number of their prayers by little stones,
grains, or other such marks ; as is clear from Palladius's Lausiac
History, from Sozomen, &c. (See Benedict XIV. De Canonlz par}
2. c. 10. n. 11.) Those who could neither read nor recite the Psalter
by heart, supplied this by a frequent repetition of the Lord's Prayer ;
and thus many illiterate persons performed, at all the canonical
hours of prayer, regular devotions, corresponding to those of the
Psalter recited by the clergy and many others. When the number
of Our Fathers was told by studs fastened on the belts which people
then wore, these prayers were reckoned by so many belts. See the
Council of Cealchyth in 816. {Cone. T. 7. p. 1489.)

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 321

THE CHURCH OF RAND ALSTO WN.

The date of the part of the church, which now forms the
sanctuary and the transepts, is told on the date-stone, on
which is inscribed, "Built by the Rev. Peter O'Boyle, 1784."
That part of the church measures interiorly 60 feet by 24.
The nave, which measures interiorly 27 feet by 24, was added
in 1824, by Father B. M'Auley, who considerably altered
the older part. Many improvements were added by
Father Curoe.

PARISH PRIESTS.

Daniel O'Mulhollan,* aged 55, residing in Magheralane,

* Some time before 1819, their lived in the now obliterated village
of Edenduffcarrick, one Henry Mulhollan, who had studied for the
priesthood, but did not enter into holy orders ; he became master
of a school in the village ; and one of his pupils was the late Mr.
Adam M 'Clean, who gave name to M 'Clean's Fields, Belfast. When
Mulhollan became old, Mr. M'Clean was kind to him; and the old
man, on his death bed, requested him to dig in bis garden for an oak
box, which contained all that he valued in the world, and which he
now bestowed to his friend and former pupil. In the box were
found a copy of Bedell's Irish Bible, and the ancient bell called Glog-
an-edhachta — " the Bell of the Will (of Patrick)," of which his
ancestors were the hereditary keepers. Mr. M'Clean highly prized
the ancient bell, but, after his death, his sons sold it and its shrine, for
£50, to the late Dr. Todd, of Trinity College, Dublin, whose executor
sold it to its present possessor, the Royal Irish Academy, for £500,
part of which was a special grant from Parliament, and the
remainder was made up by subscriptions. The attention of the
public was first drawn to this bell by James Stuart, in his ' ' Historical
Memoirs of Armagh," printed in 1819. Dr. Reeves has given an
account of it in his Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor
and Dromore ; and in 1850, Marcus Ward & Co. published
five chromo-lithosjraphic drawings of the bell and its jewelled
shrine, accompanied by an historical and illustrative description
by Dr. Reeves, who again, in the Transactions of the R.
I. Academy, in 1863, gave an exhaustive account of the bell and its
history. From these accounts we select the following summary of

V

322 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

near Randal s town, was registered in 1704, as Parish Priest
of Drummaul, Antrim, Dunegore, and Shilvodan ; he was
ordained in 1687, at Kilkenny, by the Most Rev. James

its history — There were three great relics belonging to the See of
Armagh, each of which had a special maer, or keeper, who enjoyed
certain lands and privileges for the performance of his duty. One
of these was the Clog Phadrulg, which was entrusted to the families
of O'Maelchallan (O'Mulhollan), and 0'J/ea«an(0'Mellanor O'Mallin),
who probably enjoyed it by alternate succession — alternate suc-
cession of families to certain high positions was of frequent occurrence
among the Irish, thus the sovereignty belonged alternately to the
Southern and Northern Hy Nialls. The compiler of the Annals of
Ulster writes under the year 552 : —

" I have found what follows in the Book of Cuana. The relics of
Patrick were placed in a shrine by Columcille, sixty years after his
death. Three precious reliquaries were found in his tomb, to wit
the Cup, the Gospel of the Angel, and the Bell of the Will. The
Angel in this manner shewed to Columcille how to distribute the
three reliquaries, namely, the Cup to Down, the Bell of the Will to
Armagh, the Gospel of the Angel to Columcille himself ; and it is
called the Gospel of the Angel because Columcille received it at the
Angel's hand."

In a manuscript of Irish poems ascribed to St. Columkille, which
is preserved in the Bodeleian Library, at Oxford, is one purporting to
be addressed to the Clog-an-udhachta. The A nnals of Ulster at the
year 1044, record two predatory excursions undertaken by the Kinel-
Owen princes " in revenge of the violation of the Bell of the Will."

About sixty years after this occurrence, the bell was enclosed in
its present costly shrine, as we learn from the Irish inscription which
runs along the edges of the silver frame that covers the back of the
shrine. — " Or do Domnall ULachlaind las in'demad in cloc sa} ocus
do Domnall chomarba Phatraic ico n'dernad, ocus do Chathalan U
Maelchalland do maer in Chluic, ocus do Chondulig U Inmainen co na
maccib ro cumtuig."*

Dr. Reeves's literal translation of the inscription is : —

"A prayer for Donnell O'Lochlain, through whom this Bell (or
Bell-shrine) was made ; and for Donnell, the successor of Patrick,
with whom it was made ; and for Cathlan O'Mulhollan, the keeper

* This inscription serves to show how little the Irish language, in comparison
with the other languages of Europe, has changed since a.d. 1100.

THE PARISH OF DKUMMAUL. 323

Phelm, Bishop of Ossory. When he was registered, his
sureties were Samuel Sherman, of Antrim, Gent., and John
M'Donnell, of Meanwall, Yeoman ; each of whom bailed
him in <£50.

of the Bell; and for Cudulig O'lnmainen, with his sons, who covered
it."

Donnell O'Lochlain, or MacLochlain, Monarch of Ireland, died in
1121. Donnell, the Successor of Patrick, was primate from 1091 to
1105, between which years the shrine must have been executed.
The keeper of the Bell, when the shrine was made, was an
O'Maelchallan (O'Mulhollan), but in 1356 its keeper was an O'Mellan,
under that year the Four Masters record — " Solomon O'Mellan,
keeper of the Bell of the Will, died. He was the general patron of
the clergy of Ireland."

The next keeper seems to have been an O'Mulhollan, for in Primate
Sweteman's Register there is a document dated a.d. 1365, in which
the Primate grants to Cuuladh O'Molkallan, keeper of the Bell, and
to his clan — "to all of his nation," a special exemption from any
interdict that might be laid upon the diocese. In 1425 the keeper
was an O'Mellan ; the Four Masters under that year record that
"O'Mellan, keeper of the Bell of St. Patrick's Will," and others,
were made prisoners by Lord Eurnival, who conveyed "these
chieftains to Dublin." In Primate Prene's Register there are
two documents dated a.d. 1441, by which the Primate removes the
keeping of the Bell from John O'Mellan, " who is chief of his clan,
and one of the keepers of the Bell of our most blessed patron,
Patrick," and confers it on " Patrick O'Mulchallynd (O'Mulholland),
chief of his clan, the other keeper."

In 1446, the Bell was again in the keeping of " Twol et Johannes
O'Mellan," who are deprived of their office and its privileges by-
Primate Bole. This is the last time we hear of the Bell of the Will,
until it is found in the possession of Henry Mulholland the school-
master of Edenduffcarrick. Some entries in the Irish Bible, which
accompanied the Bell, enable us partially to trace the migrations of
the family. On the title page is written, "Ex libris Edmund
Mulhollan, in comitatu Antrim, Anno Domini 1750. — Emun Ua
MUaolcliallan.'''' This Edmond, the father of Henry, lived at Shane's
Castle, in the capacity of an under-agent to the O'Neill family.

Another entry relates that his father, Bernard Mulhollan, died in
the year 1758, at Moyagall, in the Parish of Maghera, which serves

324 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

According to tradition he died in Magheralane, and was
buried in Drummaul. It is said on the same authority, that

to show that the family belonged to that portion of the County of
Derry, where persons of that name have been numerous for several
centuries, and near which, in 1458, resided "Magonius O'Mulhallan,"
who was directed by the Primate to use what force might be neces-
sary to restrain certain ecclesiastics from disturbing Patrick O'Kegan
in the enjoyment of his rectory of Inisthayde (Ballyscullion), Reg.
Prene ; but a cancelled entry in Prene's Register, Patricii O'Mul-
challynd de Ballyclug, enabled Dr. Reeves to discover that the
Parish of Ballyclog — "the town of the bell," two miles north of
Stewartstown, Co. Tyrone, was once occupied by them. Many of
the name seem to have migrated to the County of Antrim, probably
at the period of the Clannaboy Invasion ; they occupied lands in the
Parish of Killead and the last prior of Muckamore was Bryan Boy
O'Mahallan. A sept of the O'Mellans, so late as 1609, occupied the
See lands of Lurgyvallen — the lurga — the low ridge {lit. shin) of
O'Mellan. It is probable that these families alternately enjoyed the
keepership of the Bell, with its privileges and emoluments, until the
temporalities of the church passed from the Catholics, and that
after that period, the Bell remained with the descendants of the last
endowed keeper.

The Bell is quadrilateral, and formed of two plates of sheet iron,
which are bent over so as to meet, and are fastened together by large
headed iron rivets. After the bell was thus formed, it received a
coating of bronze, by being dipped into melted bronze. The clapper
is iron, and seems of much later construction. The handle, also of
iron, is riveted to the ridge of the Bell. The height of the Bell
(including the handle), is 7f inches, exclusive of the handle is 64
inches. The breadth at the mouth is 4$ inches, and the width 3|
inches, and its girth 16 inches. The breadth at the top is 5 inches,
and the width H inches. It's weight is 3 lbs. 11 oz, The Bell
therefore in itself is uninteresting, but the beautiful and costly shrine
in which it was kept proves how it was valued.

The framework of the shrine is bronze, which is covered with such
beautiful and elaborate designs in fillagree work in gold and silver,
that any description would fail to convey to the mind a truthful
impression, which only can be obtained by examining the shrine in
the Royal Irish Academy, or the beautiful drawings of it, published
by Marcus Ward & Co., Belfast, 1850.

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 325

he "was a widower when he was ordained, and that he had a
large family ; some of his descendants resided in the parish in
1847. In that year some of them considering it an insult
to the memory of the Rev. D. Mulhollan, that the corpse
of some Presbyterian should be interred in his grave, created
a riot, and in consequence had to fly to Belfast, where their
descendants were living twenty years afterwards. The
tradition may not be without foundation, as the Rev. D.
Mulhollan was 38 years of age when he was ordained.
There is another tradition among the Dickey family, that in
time of a severe persecution, they concealed this priest, and
another named O'Neill in meal barrels. The barrels were
constructed with false tops, over which meal was placed, so
that they seemed full of meal. It is said that the priests
blessed the family, praying that for seven generations the
men of it might be rich, and the women beautiful. Members
of this family also took out leases of lands for their Catholic
neighbours, when the penal laws prohibited Catholics from
holding lands by lease. *

* A writer in the Northern Whig, of March 12th, 1829, says — "A
paper, purporting to be a petition from the Parish of Ahoghill,
against further Concessions to the Catholics, has been lately got up,
and most industriously put in train of signature. The list was com
menced by some of our quondam friends in that quarter — the
M'Manusses, the Greens, &c, and Mr. Adam Dickey, though not
belonging to the parish. Does Mr. Dickey remember his grandfather's
funeral — when the air was rent with the Catholic wail — the melan-
choly dirge of Erin's children?" "His grandfather was Adam
Dickey, of Cullybackey, who died in 1827, aged 95, whose
wife was sister of Graham, who gave name to Graham's

Entry, Belfast. Adam's father, John, was married to one

Hill, The Hills always protected the Catholics, see pp. 135,
294. That John commenced the bleach - green at Low Park,
Cullybackey, which was the first that was erected on the Maine. He
was born at Bally donnelly, Parish of Duneane, a townland which

326 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

In 1704, the civil Parish of Cranfield was united to the
Parish of Duneane, but, at what period that arrangement
commenced, we have no means of knowing. The detached
townlands of the civil Parish of Drummaul, which are
situated along the shores of the lake, and are entirely
surrounded on the land side by portions of the Parish
of Duneane, were until comparatively recent times, attended
by the Priests of Drummaul. In order to remove the
inconvenience of that arrangement, those townlands were as-
signed to Duneane, and compensation was given to Drummaul,
by giving to it the four townlands of Cranfield, Creggan, and
part of Derryhollagh. There was registered in 1704, a
priest named M'Lerinon, who resided at Cranfield, and was
" without a parish ;" he was aged 32 years, and was ordained

his father, Adam, who concealed the priests, had inherited by his
wife, Janet Cuik ; that lady was the daughter of James Cuik, from
Fife, N.B., who married a lady named O'Mulchallen, or O'Mullhollan.
So that it is probable that Adam Dickey and Father O'Mulhollan
were near relatives. The father of Mrs. Adam Dickey was of the line of
Manus Reagh O'Mulchallen, and was married to a daughter of O'Neill,
of Ballydonnelly, whose lands were attained in the time of Charles II.
on pretext of rebellion, and reverted to the Shane's Castle family,
by whom they were re-granted, on a terminable lease, at a nominal
rent to James Cuik, O'Mulchallen's son-in-law. Adam Dickey's father
was John Dicke or Dickie, whose ancestors came from Ayrshire. His
house at Ballymully, near the Roe Water, was burned by the army
of James on its retreat from Derry ; and his wife was sister of Captain
Hyndman, of Myroe, Co. Derry. See Paragraph in a Belfast
Newspaper, on the death of John Dickey, Esq., of Cullybackey,
who died March Slst, 1855, aged 88 (son of the Adam, who
died 1827). The Ballydonnelly above mentioned was granted
by Shane MacBrian O'Neill to Brian MacMurtagh O'Neill,
of Feevagh, at the one -twentieth of a Knight's Fee. Brian died in
1639, and was succeeded by his son, Brian Dufl'e, who, in the reign
of Charles II., was found to. have forfeited it. It was then called
Balle-Donelan-Doragh." See Ulster Inquisitions.

THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 327

in 1697, by the Archbishop of Tuam, his bailsmen were
Daniel O'Harra, Creggan, gentleman, and David M'Lerinon,
Cranfield, yeoman, each of whom bailed him in £50.

It is said that Father Mulhollan was succeeded by a priest
named M'Gregor.

About 1730, the parish priest was the Rev. Felix Scullion,
but tradition has only preserved his name, nothing more is
known of him, though there was a sort of confused tradition
that he removed to Carrickfergus. This may have arisen
from confounding him with a priest of the same name, who
officiated in Carrickfergus thirty years afterwards.

About 1758, the Rev. John M'Cormick was parish priest,
he resided in Gortagharn. About the year 1765, he ex-
changed, with the Rev. Patrick Neeson, the parish, for
Rathlin.

Rev. Patrick Neeson(in some accounts he is called "John,")
came from Armoy, or Rathlin, by exchange with Father
M'Cormick, as stated before. He resided in Ballygrooboy,
where he died, about 1780, he was interred at Cranfield.
It is said that he studied a long time in France. During
Father Neeson's occupation, and for a considerable time
before it, Mass was celebrated at the site of the present
church. That site offered one advantage, which was in those
days very important, it was outside the limits of the
parliamentary borough of Randalstown.

The Rev. Matthew M'Lerinon was a curate under Father
Neeson. The Rev. Peter O'Boyle succeeded Father ISTeeson,
he was a native of the Parish of Duneane ; and
after his return from France, where he studied, he was
appointed to the curacy of Drummaul ; which he held till he
was appointed to its pastoral charge. In 1814, his nephew,
the Rev. Constantine O'Boyle, was sent as his curate.

328 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Father Constantine was ordained by Dr. M'Mullan, in
September, 1806, after which, he went to college, and on his
return, officiated as Parish Priest in Carrickfergus, and Larne,
but resided in Larne; from that he was sent to Drummaul; he
died of Typhus Fever, in 1817, and was interred in Cranfield.
In the following year, the Rev. Peter O'Boyle shared his
grave. Their grave-stone bears the following inscription : —

Erected

By Constantine M'Auley,*

To the Memory of his beloved Uncle,

The Rev. Constantine O'Boyle,

Died in 1817, aged 34 years,

Also, to the Memory of his beloved Uncle,

The Rev, Peter O'Boyle,

who Died in 1818, aged 67 years.

Requiescant in Pace.

After the death of Father Constantine O'Boyle, Father
Bernard M'Cann, a native of Ballynaleney, in the civil parish
of Drummaul, was appointed curate. He was a great
favourite with the people, and they wished to retain him as
parish priest when Father Peter O'Boyle died. They sent a
deputation to the Bishop to solicit his appointment, but Dr.
M'Mullan refused, and appointed Father M'Auley to Drum-
maul, and Father M'Cann* to Armoy and Ballycastle ; the

* The following is a copy of a Subscription List, sent to Father
M'Nally, of Ahoghill ; from it Father M'Cann seems to have assumed
the position of parish priest.

"to the charitable and humane.

"The Memorial of the Catholic Inhabitants of Antrim and its
Vicinity, humbly sheweth —

" That they intend to erect a Chapel in Antrim, but they are con-
vinced their own subscriptions will be insufficient to complete the
building, they therefore humbly entreat the benevolent aid of their

* Mr. Constantine M'Auley was the father of the Rev. Hugh M'Auley, Professor
St. Malachy's Dioce an College.

THE PAEISH OF DKUMMAUL. 329

people thereon closed the doors of the chapel against Father
M'Auley, but after some little time they submitted to their
new pastor.

The Rev. Bernard M'Auley was born in the Parish of
Glenarm, in the year 1771 ; entered the Second Class of
Humanity, in the College of Maynooth, on the 4th of
August, 1807; was ordained by Dr. Murray in the Chapel of
the College, on the 19th of January, 1812; was appointed
Carat© of Belfast shortly after his ordination, from which he
was promoted to the Parish of Drummaul, in February,
1819; Father M'Auley was appointed to the Parish of
Ballymena, on the 30th of September, 1825.

The Rev. Daniel Curoe suceeded Father M'Auley.
Father Curoe was born on the 20th of October, 1793, in the
townland of Whitehills, Parish of Kilclief ; entered the
Logic Class in the College of Maynooth, August 25th, 1815;
was ordained by Dr, Murray, in Townsend Street Chapel,
Dublin, on the 4th of December, 1821, after which he was
appointed Curate of Belfast, from which he was promoted to
the Parish of Drummaul, on the 1st of October, 1825. At the
Discussion in Downpatrick, in April, 1828, the speakers on
the Catholic side were the Rev. C. Denvir, P.P., Down-
patrick (afterwards Bishop of Down and Connor), Rev.
Bernard M'Auley, P.P., Ballymena, and Rev. Daniel Curoe,
P.P., Drummaul. Their opponents were Rev. Dr. Hincks.
of Killyleagh, Rev. H. J. Cumming, Ballymena (afterwards
of Loughinisland), and Rev. Robert Wood Kyle, Curate of

Fellow-Christians, and a most grateful recollection of their goodness
will be ever retained.

" Signed at the request of the Congregation,

" Bernard M'Cann, P. P.

"NAMES. £ s. d."

330 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Loughgall. Father Curoe was the author of many contro-
versial pamphlets. He died 20th October, 1854, and was
interred in the Church-yard of Randalstown. His tomb
bears the following inscription : —

In Memoriam

Admodum Eevdi Danielis Curoe, P.P., et V.G.,

Qui, virtutibus moribus atque doctrina

PrceceJlens curaque pastorali

Tarn senioribus quam junioribus gregis

Disciplina Domini in edocenda

Intentus, obiit die 21a Octobris,

Anno. Sal. Rep. 1854. Aetatis suce 61.

Requlescat in Pace. Amen.

Ego autem injustitia apparebo conspectui tuo : satiabor cum apparuerit

gloria tua. — Psalm xvi. 15.

After the death of Father Curoe, the parish was adminis-
tered by his curates, Rev. William John M'Auley (afterwards
Parish Priest of Glenravel), and Rev. "William Close (after-
wards Parish Priest of Newtownards), until the appointment
of Father O'Loughlin.

The Rev. Henry O'Loughlin is a native of the townland
of Culcavey, in the vicinity of Hillsborough. After studying
in the Diocesan College, he entered the Logic Class, in the
College of Maynooth, in August, 1838 ; was ordained in
1844 ; was shortly afterwards appointed curate of Belfast ;
was appointed Parish Priest of Larne, in 1854 ; from which
he was appointed to Drummaul, on the 14th of Octobe^
1856. Father O'Loughlin resigned the parish in 1873, and
went on the mission in the Diocese of Brooklyn, United
States, America. After the resignation of Father O'Loughlin
the union of the parishes of Antrim and Drummaul was
dissolved, and the Rev. John M'Grehan was appointed
Parish Priest of Drummaul.

Father M'Grehan, after studying in the Diocesan College,

1 THE PARISH OF DRUMMAUL. 331

entered the Rhetoric Class, in the College of Maynooth,
on the 25th of August, 1836, being then in the 18th
year of his age ; was ordained in Belfast, by Dr. Denvir, on
the 5th of May, 1812 ; was appointed Curate of Cushendall,
in June, 1842 ; Curate of Aghagallon, in February, 1849 ;
from which, after a few months, he was appointed Dean of
the Diocesan College; he was appointed, on the 11th of
March, 1854, Curate of Ballykinler; he afterwards officiated
a year and three months as Curate in Rasharkin, from which
he was appointed Parish Priest of Portrush, on the 18th
of June, 1864. He was appointed to the Parish of Drum-
maul, on the 5th of July, 1873.

PARISH OF DUNEANE.

DUNEANE PARISH, in the Catholic arrangement,
comprises the entire civil parish of Duneane, except
the townlands of Creggan, and a part of Derryhollagh. It
includes also the civil parish of the Grange of Ballyscullion,
and the detached townlands of Ballynacraigy, Ballynaleney,
Killyfad, and Portlee, which belong to the civil parish of
Drummaul.

The church of Duneane, which by some mistake is written
Dovan, is valued in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas at 20s.
The lands of Duneane, consisting of four townlands, belonged,
in ancient times, to the Bishop, but the rectorial tithes and
the nomination of the Yicar belonged to the Abbot of Kells ;
the rights of the Abbot were conferred by James I, on Sir
Arthur Chichester. The Terrier enters, " Ecclesia de
Dunean hath 4 towns Erenoth, Lord Deputy (Chichester),
Parson, H, M'Clernon, Vicar; it pays, proxies, 20s. Refections,
20s. synodals, 2s." The entry in the Visitation Book of 1 622 is
" Ecclesia de Duneene ruynous , Rectory impropriate to the
Abbey of Kells, possest by the Lo-Treasurer (Chichester).'
In 1831 Chichester's rectorial tithes in Duneane and Cran-
field were leased by Mr. W. Cranston, of Belfast. The
vicarial tithes, at that date, amounted, in Duneane, to £240,
and in the Union to .£270 per annum. The See-lands of
Duneane, consisting of the four townlands of Cloughogue,
Gortgill, Lismacloskey, and Tamnaghmore, were held along

THE PAEISH OF DUNEANE. 333

■with the See-lands of Cranfield, by the Alexander family, of
Portglenone, under a lease of 21 years, with the usual
implied condition of perpetual renewal. By this lease they
were to pay to the See £77 10s 9d annual rent, and
£193 16s lid annual renewal fine.

The Protestant Church, which measures 54 feet
by 26, is built on the foundations of the ancient church.
The foundations of the eastern gable, which is supposed to
be a portion of the ancient church, is 3 feet 3 inches in
thickness, while the western gable is only 2 feet 9 inches.
It is situated in the townland of Lismacloskey. At the foot
of the hill, on which stands the church, there is a
place about half-an-acre in extent, which, in ancient times,
was a graveyard, and near it was a Holy Well, called the
"Nun's Well," which is now filled up.

Colgan (Acta. S.S. 8 Jan.) says, " St. Ergnata flourished
about the year of Christ, 460, and our Hagiologists relate,
that her festival was celebrated in the Church of Cluainda-en
(the meadow of the two birds), in the district called
Fiodhbhaidh (Feevagh), and in the Church of Tamhlact-bo,
both on the 8th of January, and on the 31st (recte 30th), of
October." Colgan adds in a note that Cluain-da-en is a
parochial church on the banks of Lough ISTeagh. Two
transcripts of the Calendar of Aengus, read at the 30th of
October, where it commemorates St. Ernach — "Ernach a
virgin (uag) a high pillar," but the oldest transcript which
Whitley Stokes gives, reads, " Ernach, a youth (oc), a high
pillar." It is obvious that there were two saints, one a
virgin, the daughter of the prince, who gave Armagh to St.
Patrick ; she was named Ergnata, or Eargnath, or Herenat,
and was honoured on the 8 th of January, with a festival in
the Church of Tamlachtbo, in the parish of Eglish, near

334 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Armagh. While there was another saint called by nearly
the same name, though a man, who was honoured by a
festival in the Church of Duneane, which was held on the
30th of October. In process of time, the hagiologists con-
founded the two on account of the similarity of names.
Thus the Calendar of Donegal has, at the 8th of January.

" Eargnat, Virgin of Dun-da-en, in Dalaraidhe," and
again at the 30th of October, it has

" Hercnat, Virgin of Dun-da-en, in Fiodhbhadh (Feevagh),
of Dalaraidh."

The note on the Festology of Aengus, in the L. Breac,
sets the matter at rest.

Ernach-i-MacTairnd, &c., Ernach, i.e. son of Tairnd, is his
name, but it fitted not the quatrain ; and in D un-da-en, in
Fidbaid (Feevagh), of Dalaraidhe, is he"

Dun-da-en, the old form of the name Duneane, signifies
"the fort of the two birds," in allusion to some old legend
a version of which is given below. Feevagh is still the name of
district adjoining Duneane. St. Ernach, whose festival was
held on the 30th of October, in Duneane, seems to be the
same St. Ernin, whose festival was held on the 31st of May,
in Cranfield.

On a hill in the townland of Moneynick, there was for-
merly a rath, which was destroyed before the year 1820.
In times of persecution, that rath was one of the Mass-forths
at which Mass was celebrated. Adjoining to it, there was
an ancient graveyard, which occupied about half-a-rood;
but rath and graveyard have long since disappeared. In
Moneynick there is also an artificial cave of the usual con-
struction. The following raths containing caves are
mentioned in the MS. Ordnance Memoir. — " John Edgar's
Fort," in Tamnaderry, " the fort is now a circular garden

THE PAEISH OF DUNEANE. 335

100 feet in diameter."— In " Hugh M'Clarnan's Fort, in
Derrygowan, there was a cave, now demolished; it extended
from the parapet towards the centre." — In " James Lyle's
Fort, in Ballyclaghan, there is a cave now choked up. The
outer rim of the ditch had once a parapet as high as the
interior platform, the outer edge of the parapet was
strengthened by a neatly fitted row of square stones, each
about a cubic foot. A few of them still remain."

The Inquisition taken at Antrim, in 1 605, when speaking
of Tuogh-ne-fuigh, " the district of Feevagh," says " there is
in the same tuogh a certain lake called Loughdireare." The
territory of Feevagh includes the civil Parishes of Cranfield,
Duneane, and the Grange, Tuogli-ne-fuigh, is evidently an
approximation to the pronunciation of Tuoch-na-Fiodhbhadh
— "the tuoch of the Feevagh or wooded land" Loughdireare
has assumed in modern times the name of Loughravel. It is
situated in Derryhollagh. The artificial island, or Crannog,
was 75 feet in diameter. It was formed by a circle of stakes
of white oak, pointed at the lower end, and driven into the
original bed of the bog-lake. The stakes were 20 feet long
and bound together by beams ; the interior was filled with
whatever the constructors found convenient. The farmer
and his predecessors, who, for the last 50 years, have exca-
vated the island for the purpose of finding antiquities, and
drawing away manure, found an immense quantity of
decomposed straw and heather, together with earth, stones,
<fcc. There were only twelve of the stakes remaining in
1837, when the Ordnance Memoir was written. The objects
found were of a miscellaneous character, two boats hollowed
out of oak trees, with their paddles or oars, iron tools
supposed to have been used by coiners, brooches, skians, and
spears of bronze, wooden and brazen dishes, and a few coins,
some of them of a date as late as the reign of Charles II.

336 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Three ancient moulds of slate, for casting crucifixes,
were found in a field in the same townland, about the
year 1817.

At the back of the village of Staffordstown, which is
distant about four miles from Toome, there was formerly a
military building of which only the debris remains ; it is said
to have been a guard-house to a castle that formerly stood
60 perches to the south-east, of which considerable traces
yet remain. The castle was within an enirenched space 20
perches long by 18 perches broad; the western ditch is still
perfect, being 38 perches long, 20 feet broad, and at present
6 feet deep. The other three sides are nearly filled up, the
corners, however, still remain, showing that the ditch was
20 feet broad, and that the enclosed space was perfectly
quadrangular. The enclosed space never was cultivated,
until the father of the present tenant built his farm-house on
the foundations of the castle itself; he made an orchard, on
a part of the enclosed space and in doing so, he found
fifteen different pits of human bones. When making a ditch
he' found many bones and some troopers' spurs — near
every spur the bones of the legs appeared. Ordnance
Memoir MSS. This castle is said to have been destroyed by
the Irish, in the war of 1641. It is probable that it was
built by the Stafford family, descended from Sir Francis
Stafford, Governor of Ulster, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
Sir Henry O'Neill, of Shane's Castle, who died in 1638, was
married to a daughter of this Stafford. In a document,
dated, 1867, connected with the O'Neill property, it is stated
that a rent of £5 per annum is payable from the
Stafford property, at Staffordstown and at Portglenone, to
Lord O'Neill. In that document, Ballymackveigh is given
as another, perhaps the old name for Staffordstown. One

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 337

of the published Inquisitions found that all these lands
belonged to Edmund Stafford, of Mountstafford (near Port-
glenone), Knight, who died March 1st, 1644, and who had
passed them to his nephew, Francis Stafford, or Echlin, and
that they were held of the king by knights' service. The
lands at Staffordstown passed, about the beginning of this
century, by purchase into the possession of the Alexander
family, of Portglenone. They were again sold in the En-
cumbered Estates Court, when the most of them were
purchased by the late Mr. Jones, and a part of Staffordstown
was purchased by Mr. Neal O'Boyle.

There is a small district along the shore of Lough Neagh,
which belongs to the civil Parish of Drummaul, though
completely detached from it. In Lendrick's Map of the
County of Antrim, published in 1780, the townlands of this
district are Killyfad, Ballynacraigy, Portlee, Ballynalena,*
Nockafort and Doss ; the last two, though locally used as

* The following advertisement which was inserted in the Belfast
Nexus Letter, tells how much Catholics had to suffer in the last
century : —

" This is to give notice that the several towns and lands of
Aghaloghan, Creeve, Gortgarn, Ballynaleny, and Ballydugenan
(together with 38 acres in Portlee, now in the possession of Hugh
Boyle), containing in the whole 838 acres, plantation measure,
situate in the Parishes of Dunean and Drumaul, in the Barony of
Toome, and County Antrim, being part of the estate of Charles
O'Neill, Esq., of Shane's Castle, are to be let on reasonable terms to
Protestant tenants, for three lives or 31 years, from 1st of November,
1739. Proposals in writing will be received by said Charles O'Neill,
at Shane's Castle, or by his agent Mr. Charles O'Hara, at Sharvogs,
near Bandalstown, in the Co. Antrim. Dated the 4th day of July,
1739."

A similar advertisement was issued by Charles O'Neill, twenty-
four years afterwards.

" To be let to solvent Protestant Tenants, for such Term as may be

W

338 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the names of townlands, are in the Ordnance Maps absorbed
in the adjoining townlands. These townlands formerly

agreed upon, the following Lands, part of the Estate of Charles
O'Neill, of Shane's Castle, Esq. ; to wit :

MANOR of Edenduffcarrick.
The Townlands of Ballymackleroy, Clare, Crea, Prockless, and
Turrygowan, the House and Demesne of Drumsough, and the Farm
in Ballylurgan, now possessed by James Kerr ; the Townland of
Magherlane whereon two Bleach-Greens may be erected.
MANOR of Buckna.
The Quarterland of Creavamoy, now possessed by Mr. Arthur
0'N"eill ; the Quarter of Longtnore, possessed by James O'Dornan
and others ; and the Farm in Killygore, lately Patrick McCann's.

MANOR Of MULLOGHGANE.

The Quarterland of Aghocarnaghan, now possessed by Felix,
Henry, and Con O'Neill ; the Townland of Ballydugenon ; Shane
O'Doud, Bryan, Hugh, and John O'Neill's Farms, in Ballynamullon ;
the Townlands of Ballynacooly and Gareiffgeery ; the Townland of
Munynick, except Hugh Davison, William Adgar and Charles Kidd's
Farms ; the Townland of Portlee, except Robert Small's Farm ; the
Half-Town of Arklone ; William Coll en's Farm in Ballydonnollon ;
Thomas Thompson's Farm, in Ballydunmaul : Robert Vass, James
Manees, and Joseph Goorly's Farms in Munyrodd.

Proposals may be given immediately at Mr. O'Neill's Office,
Shane's Castle aforesaid.

N.B. — No person need be at the trouble of giving a proposal, who
is not known, or is not well recommended, as an industrious honest
Protestant. Dated, October 14th, 1763."

That Charles O'Neill was "Protestant Charley," or "Black
Charley." The descendants of the Catholic tenants of 1739 and 1763
cultivate to-day the lands of Feevagn, but the descendants, and the
name of Charles O'Neill are gone for ever from Shane's Castle.
Here is another Sample of what the Catholics of Duneane had to suffer
in the last century : —

"To be let for Lives or Years, as may be agreed upon, either in
the Whole, or in Parcels, twelve Farms in the Townland of Money-
glass ; in each Farm from ten to fifteen acres ; the most of the above
Farms have Houses upon them, and very convenient to Turf Moss ;
to commence from the first day of November, last. Proposals will be
received by Robert Morris Jones, Esq. , at Moneyglass, and by James

THE PARISH OP DUNEANE. 339

constituted a parish, and were connected with a very ancient
church which was situated on one of the Three Islands,

Mason, Esq. , at Laggan. A Preference will be given to Protestants.
April 1st, 1771."

The reader will observe that those advertisements testify, that
there was in those days no such thing as Tenant Right, that term is
a mere political figment ; the landlord, at the end of each term,
offered to the highest bidder, the farms of his tenants, until his cruel
exactions called into existence, among his Protestant tenantry, the
Hearts of Steel. The following advertisements referring to lands on
which Tenant Right was supposed to exist, will dissipate the pleasing
delusion : —

To be let, from the 25th of March, 1771, for Lives or Years, Part
of the Estate of the Duke of Leinster, in the Barony of Lecale, in the
County of Down (to wit), in the Manor of Ardglass, Part of the Lands
of Ballyedock, in eight Divisions. Crew, Kildare, in five Divisions,
Part of Wigham's Town, in three Divisions ; and in the Manor of
Strangford, Cargah, in three Divisions, Part of Cloghey, called Tully-
gilloweel, Upper Killard, in three Divisions, Lower Killard, in four
Divisions, Tullyfoil, in three Divisions, Upper Lignogapock, in three
Divisions, Lower Lignogopock, in three Divisions, and Part of Ring-
awoody. Good encouragement will be given to Tenants who will
build, reside upon, and improve the said Lands, which will be shown
by Robert Claney, of Strangford. Proposals in writing to be received
on or before the 25th of December next, by Peter Bere, Esq., at
Carton, near Maynooth (under Cover to the Duke of Leinster), and
by Hugh Hill, Esq., at Derry. Such as de3ire their Proposals to be
kept secret may depend on it being done. Carton, Oct. 3d, 1770."

" County of Down and Barony of Lecale.

The three following Farms, being part of the Estate of George
Cockburn, Esq. , to be let for such Term as may be agreed upon, and
entered upon immediately, viz ; - That Farm in the Townland of
Lissoyd, lately possessed by Nicholas Hana and Patrick Mason,
which contains 23a. 2r. lOp. That Farm in the Townland of Bally -
vaston, lately possessed by Robert Hana, which contains la. 2r. 30p.
That Farm in the Townland of Lismohan, lately possessed by Robert
Shiels and his Under-tenants, containing 11a. Or. 5p.

Proposals to be sent to George Hamilton, at Lismore, near Down.
The Tenants will be declared the first day of March. "

340 DIOCESE OF CONNOE.

called the " Middle Island." The grave-yard of this ancient
church has for ages been unused, nevertheless the spot is
still locally remembered, though the tradition of its existence
is fast dying out. The Ord. Mem. MS. gives two drawings
of a holy water font of hard greenstone, which was found on
one of the Three Islands ; but, unfortunately, the Memoir
does not tell on which of the islands it was found. It
describes it as " precisely similar as respects the dimensions
of the hole or font to many others which have been found in
old burying-grounds of this county. There are several cuts
or hacks about the font as if made with some sharp instru-

The estate to which this advertisement refers was purchased,^: wo
years ago, by Sir Edward Porter Cowan.

March 16, 1771.
To be set from the first Day of November next, for a Term of
Years to be agreed on, the following Houses and Lands, situate iu
the Townland of Ardeglass, in Grange, and County of Antrim, near
the navigable Eiver Bann, and in the heart of a pleasant Country,
where the Linen Manufacture flourishes in the greatest Degree, and
near many noted Market Towns. Said Lands are free from all Tithe
and Church Dues, and plentifully supplied with Firing, and so near
that twenty Loads may be brought Home in a Day.

A. R. p.
The noted publick House where the Misses Boyds live, ) ,q ,
with English Measure, - - - -

The Houses and Land where Patrick O'Doud lives,
The Houses and Lands where Patrick O'Devlin lives,
The Houses and Land where Darby O'Toole lives,
The Houses and Land where Bryan O'Murry lives,
The House and Land where Thomas Low lives,
N.B. — All the above Houses are Good Stone and
Houses."

Every newspaper of that period was filled with similar advertise-
ments. It was therefore the hard hearts of the landlords that
called into existence the Hearts of Steel, and the daring acts of that
illegal association resuscitated in Ulster tenant-right ; for there can
be no doubt that originally both British Planter and Celtic Chief,
entered into an implied contract that constituted Tenant-Plight. "

11

13

4

11

3

3

23

1

9

19

1

37

9

3

36

Lime Farm

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 341

ment. The font is somewhat oval ; it measures 13 inches by
10 inches, and is 7-£ inches deep, it is very smoothly cut." A
•high ridge of gravel connects the Middle Island to the
mainland, and seems once to have been, at one season of the
year, a causeway, and at another, a ford. The island became
at an early period the abode of some holy man, who selected
its lonely solitude as the place of his penitential exercises.

References to the important Pass of Toome is frequently
met with in many of our historical documents. The
" Tripartite Life of St. Patrick " relates that when he was
leaving Dalaradia he began his journey through Fersait
Tuama — " the crossing of Tuam (Toome), in the district of
Hy-Tuirtre." The Four Masters relate, a.d., 1099 — "An
army was led by Donnell O'Loughlin and the Clanna-Neill of
the North, across Tuaim into Ulidia," on their march to
Crew-hill, near Glenavy. In 1148 — "Another army was led
by Muircheartach MacLoughlin and the Kinel-Owen
across Tuaim into Ulidia," to depose one King of Ulidia
and to appoint another. In 1181 — " The men of Moy-Ithe,
together with O'Kane and the Kinel-Binny of the Yalley,
mustered an army and crossed Tuiam. They plundered all
the territories of Fir-Li and Hy-Tuitre, and carried off many
thousand cows.'' In 1197 — "John De Courcy, with a
numerous army crossed Toome into Tyrone to invade Derry
and Inishowen. In 1199 — Hugh O'Neill defeated the Eng-
lish troops when they were plundering Tyrone " and such as
escaped from him fled secretly, by night, tarrying nowhere
till they had passed Toome." The ford of Toome appears
from these entries to have been the principal gate by which
the tribes occupying the modern Counties of Derry and
Tyrone effected an entrance into what was called " Ulladh,"
or "Ulidia;" it was, therefore, the great battle ground

342 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

between the hostile tribes which lived on either side of the
river Bann. It is on that account that so many weapons of
stone, copper, bronze, and iron were found when the ford
was deepened. Some of these, which reached the Royal
Irish Academy Collection, for the most part of them passed
into the hands of private collectors, are described in the
catalogue as being " scattered over the hard bottom of Toome
Bar, on the Lower Bann, at the outlet of Lough Neagh, at a
depth of from one to three feet under the surface of the sand,
adjacent to Toome Castle, on the Antrim side." A castle to
defend the pass of the river formerly stood in the vicinity of
the village and was a military station of considerable im-
portance. Tradition says that the keep or tower was of a
square form, and about fifty feet high. On the landside it
was protected by a strong wall enclosing a court, or yard.
On the side next the lake, there was originally a very
strongly built wall twelve yards long. It was undermined
by the waters of the lake during the winter floods, and lay
for many years on the sand, in three great unbroken masses,
until it was removed during the operation of the works,
carried on by the Board of Works. This castle was one of
a chain of forts, which the English erected along the Bann,
Coleraine, the Lochins, the Cross, the Vow, Portglenone, and
Toome. Early in the reign of Elizabeth, we find the Castle
of Toome held by Bandolpus Lane. On his death, it was-
granted in 1571, together with an immense "territory of
Down and Antrim, to Sir Thomas Smyth. His indenture
goes on to state that divers parts of Ulster were " inhabited
by a wicked, barbarous, and uncivil people, some Scottish,
and some wild Irish, late in rebellion to the Queen."
While this grant was in full force, the same territory was
granted in 1573, to Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex. In

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 343

fact it would seem that the Queen and her advisers knew

little of the geographical position of the territories they were

disposing of. The Carew MSS. contain a memorandum by

Secretary Smith, May 26th, 1573 ; from which it appears

that Smith would be willing to lease to Essex the disputed

castles, " rather than that the good enterprise should be left

off." To each castle he would assign in the proposed lease

a certain territory.

"Castle Tome, standing upon Lough Eagh, must have half-a-mile
south, measuring by the lough a mile and a half north by the river
of the ban, and then eastward taking the same breadth by Castle
Mowbray (Shane's Castle), four miles. And if it do fall out in the
measure, there is more distance betwixt the said castles, east and
west, yet that space shall be to either castles, equally divided, and
my Lord shall pay nothing for that, but only be bound to trench
out, and make a plain and known partition on the south side of all
these territories."

It was not the lot of either of these adventurers to enjoy
the coveted territory. In the summers of 1601 and 1602
the Fort of Toome was held by a part of the army commanded
by Sir Arthur Chichester. The cruelties of that army were
such as to extort a sort of commiseration for the natives from
even Chichester. In the following season the Lord Deputy
writing to the Government, says — "O'Hagan protested unto us
that between Tulloghoge and Toome there lay unburied 1,000
dead ; that since our first drawing this year to Blackwater,
there were about 3,000 starved. And sure the poor people
in these parts never yet had the means to know Gud, or to
acknowledge any other sovereign than the O'Neals, which
makes me the more commiserate them."

Early in the reign of James I., another adventurer,
Captain Thomas Philips, began to carve out his fortune along
the Bann. In September, 1604, he got a conveyance, from
James Hamilton, Esq., of the late Priory of Coleraine and

344 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

its possessions ; and on the 20th of July, 1605, he obtained
from the crown a patent for these premises ; and on the
same day a grant, for twenty-one years, of the customs on
goods imported into and exported from Portrush, and
Portballintra, and the River Bann, except the duties on all
wines ; and also the ferry and ferry-boat of Coleraine, over
the Bann, and the ferry of Toome over that river, and all
ferrys between Coleraine and Toome, with fees for passen-
gers and cattle carried over " between sun and sun " — rent
<£1. It is stated in the grant that it was " made in redress
of the many stealthy robberies and evils, which were actually
committed, and carried from one country into the other,
over the Bann, by reason, there was no keeping upon the
passengers thereof." On the 18th of February, 1606, he
obtained a grant hy letters patent, for his " faithful and
dutiful services, of the Castle and fort of Toome, or Castle
Toome, and thirty acres of land next adjoining," which
remained in His Majesty's disposition for the better defence
of those remote parts and places thereabouts — rent, a pair of
gilded spurs, value 20/-, to the King or Chief Governor, if
any of them come to the said castle. Phillips,* writing

* Sir Thomas Phillips, in 1608, obtained a license from the Crown,
"to make Aqua Vitce (or simply Irish Whiskey), in Coleraine County
(Co. Derry), and in the Route in Antrim County." He dealt largely
in this commodity with " Willian Cockayne, Alderman of London,"
Governor of the Irish Society, the original " Cockney," from whom
it is said that subriquet and the term " Kingdom of Cockneydom,"
are derived. He was appointed surveyor to the Irish Society, and
when they were unwilling or unable to pay him, he obtained in 1612,
for his fees, the Castle and Town of Limavady, and lands in Magil-
ligan, together with eight townlands in Moyola. In 1633, he sold
the lands of Moyola, to Thomas Dawson, eldest brother of Dean
Dawson, whose family came from Westmoreland. That estate was
afterwards named " the estate of Dawson's Bridge," and subse-
quently the Manor of Castledawson. Sir Thomas Phillips's grandson,

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 345

from Coleraine, to Salisbury, 10th May, 1608, says, "the
Castle of Toome is one of the greatest passages in all Tyrone."
On the 17th of June, 1611, the King's Letter, issued to
" Sir Thomas Phillips, Knight for a grant to him and to his
son, Dudley Phillips (then only two years old), of a daily
pension of 6/8, and to the survivor of them ; and also for a
grant of the Castle of Toome, with 60 acres of land, and all
wood and bog then enjoyed by the said Sir Thomas — rent
10/-, or a pair of gilt spurs, when the Chief Governor should
come in person to the said castle, with liberty to hold fairs
and markets there — also a grant during life of 22 footmen,
infantry, with such entertainment as he and they then
enjoyed at Coleraine and Toome." The influence of Sir
Thomas with the crown began to wane, and he was ulti-
mately dismissed from the constableship of Toome Castle,
which in 1614, was conferred on Sir Faithful Fortescue, who
was allowed twenty warders, and in 1619 it was conferred
on Sir Claud Hamilton, " with a ward of six men for life,
with 8/- a day for himself, and 8d, Irish, each, for the
warders.

In 1642, the Castle of Toome was garrisoned by a part
of the regiment of Antrim, commanded by Sir John
Clotworthy, who, the same year erected some additional
works, and put the place into a thorough state of defence.

In 1649, Colonel Kobert Stewart was Governor, who, about
the month of December, was obliged to surrender the place
to the Parliamentarian troops, under the orders of Colonel
Kobert Venables.

George Phillips, of Limavady Castle, began to encumber the Lima-
vady estate in 1672, first by mortgage, to Joseph Deane and George
Stepney, and after 1693, it passed into the Connolly family by
purchase.

346 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

The Warr of Ireland, written by an officer in Clot worthy's
regiment, tells us, that while Yenables and Sir Charles Coote
were striving to prevent Emer MacMahon, Bishop of Clogher,
from gathering together his army, " there was a design of
the Irish for taking the Forte of Toome, a considerable pass-
age at the Bann's Mouth, between the County of Antrim,
and the Counties of Tyrone and Londonderry, and very
advantageous, as the station of the war then stood ; which
accordingly was done, being taken on May-day morning
(a.d. 1650), and the next day, the Fort of Grlenane and
Port (glenone), all without blood, but one Drummer at
. ." Coote on hearing this, fell back to Strabane, and
Venables retired to County Antrim, and "they made no long
delay, but getting his Cannons and Bumboes with him to
Toome, with which he was working eight or ten days, and
the place not being able against such powerful weapons, was
surrendered to him by Major Shane O'Hagan, a stout man,
who made good quarters, and so marched off with his men,
and two Captains Donnellies, and their men — in all, about
one hundred and twenty with their Armes. In the Interim
those two Armies being separated at Dungannon, the
Bishop's army got together, and sent one thousand men and
one hundred horse, under the conduct of Colonel MacDonnell,
a valiant man in the field, now Lord of Antrim, to relieve
Toome, but before he came to a place called Mountjoy, it
was surrendered/'

Charles II., by letters patent, dated, 20th of July, 1665,
granted to that Marquis of Antrim, the castle, lands, and
ferry of Toome, the towns and lands of Munyglasse, etc.,
subject to a quit rent of £9 8s lid. These, the Marquis
conferred on his wife, Rose, daughter of Sir Henry O'Neill,
and her heirs, and by letters patent, of the 19 th of

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 347

Charles II., these lands were confirmed to her and her heirs,
and erected into the " Manor of Mulaghgane."

In February, 1688, we find the castle held by a detach-
ment of Colonel Cormack O'Neill's dragoons, who held it for
James II. ; they were attacked, on the 11th of that month,,
by the Antrim Association, who had taken up arms
against the king. The dragoons effected their escape
over the Bann, but in such confusion that their
retreat is called " the Break of Toome." In the spring of
the same year, the castle was held by the regiment of Sir
John Skeffington, under the orders of Lieutenant-
Colonel Hustorj. Colonel Gordon O'Neill, son of the cele-
brated Sir Phelim Roe O'Neill, encamped at Drumaslough
Hill, where the remains of the earthworks, which he threw
up, are still visible. From thence, he summoned Huston to
surrender but was unable to obtain possession of the fort
owing to the flooded state of the country. About the 12th
of April, a division of the Irish army passed the Bann
above Portglenone and the garrison of Toome was obliged
to evacuate. That was the last siege of Toome ; the castle
was allowed to fall into ruin, but in 1774, the public were
much surprised when Sir George M'Cartney was appointed
Governor and Constable, with a salary of .£1,300 per annum.
This shameful sinecure met with considerable opposition,
even in the Irish House of Commons, but Sir George con-
tinued to enjoy his .£1,300 per annum, notwithstanding. In
1783, the ruinous walls of the castle were taken down, to
assist in the erection of a bridge over the Bann, which was
built by Lord O'Neill, and the rubbish was carted off to
bottom a new road leading through a marsh to that bridge.
A great many silver coins, a 24 pounder cannon ball, and an
18 pounder, with a few other military articles, were the only

348 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

antiquities found among the ruins. About the year 1825,
what was supposed to be a rosary consisting of 58 amber
beads — the largest about the size of a hand-ball, the smallest
the size of a large pea, was found in a flow-bog, in the town-
land of Toome,* at the depth of a foot from the surface.

A very large quern, or mill stone, 11| feet in diameter,
and 2J feet thick, was found in a turf-bog in Mullaghgawn.

In the neighbourhood of Toome there were several
residences of various branches of the O'Neill family ; new
erections occupy the sites of all of them except Feevagh-house,
which was erected by Hugh Oge O'Neill, son of Con
MacBrian O'Neill, in the year 1602, as appeared by an
inscription over the door. It is delineated on Lendrick's
Map of the County of Antrim, published iu 1780. It was
then occuj>ied by Hugh O'Neill. The Hugh Oge O'Neill,

* Tradition relates that shortly after the Revolution, the Governor
of Toome Castle was Colonel Gee. Among the many stories regard-
ing this monster's cruelties, the following is current in that
neighbourhood : — An old and insane friar, named O'Hagan, strolling
one day into the castle, was met by Colonel Gee, who inquired
what brought him there, and received for answer, ' ' the same that
brought you." The Colonel replied, "it i'll never bring you back,''
and seizing the poor friar, had his feet tied and placed so close to a
large fire, that they were literally roasted. Intelligence of this
inhuman barbarity spread with the rapidity of lightning, until it
reached the ears of the friar's brother, Cormac, in Tyrone. He im-
mediately, accompanied by four otheis as resolute as himself, crossed
the lough in an open boat, and landed in the vicinity of the Castle.
Leaving his companions at the boat, O'Hagan passed the sentinel to
whom he exhibited a letter addressed to the Governor. The moment
after he stood in the presence of the tyrant, his skian was buried in
the heart of Gee, while he wildly exclaimed, " My brother shall be
avenged " — then rushing past the sentinel, he escaped to his boat.
The body of Colonel Gee was buried under an ash tree near the fort,
and within memory, oral tradition continued to point out the de-
tested grave of the last military tyrant of Toome.

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 34 ;>

who built Feevagh House, in the townland of Carlane, was
grandson of Brian, who was murdered by Essex. Hu»h
Oge having been pardoned (Patent 5 James I.,) for his
participation in "Tyrone's Rebellion," settled in the Feevagh,
and was father of Brian MacHugh Oge, " Lord of the Feeva,"
on whom the Shane's Castle estates were entailed, by the
will of his father's first cousin, Sir Henry O'Neill. Brian
was father of Colonel Con MacBrian, who died in 1714.
His son was Captain Con Modera, who led the forlorn hope
at the bridge of Athlone, and whose brother-in-law, Sir Neal
O'Neill, was mortally wounded, by his side, at the Boyne; he
died in 1740. He had two sons, Captain Con, in the French
Service, at Culloden, in 1745, and Charles Dubh, the father
of Hugh, who was residing in Feevagh House, in 1780, and
of Colonel Con O'Neill, of the Spanish Service. The last
mentioned Hugh, was the father of Felix, who was father
of Charles Henry, barrister at law, Louis Gordon, Solicitor,
Dublin, and Felix. Charles Henry O'Neill, styled himself
" O'Neill of Clanaboy ;" he collected many valuable papers
to illustrate the history of the O'Neill's, which have been
removed by his only child, Elizabeth, to Newfoundland,
where she resides with her husband, Judge Conroy.

Brecart House was occupied by Captain Daniel O'Neill,
son of Luke O'Neill, son of Daniel, brother of Felix O'Neill,
who married Miss. Kerr, of Flowerfield, Sir William
Beth am noted this genealogy of Captain Daniel in his MS.
collection from a verbal statement made to him by Neal
John O'Neill, Crown Solicitor of Antrim, who had it from
Mrs. Smith, but it is obvious that there must be several
links omitted.

The Honourable Henrietta Frances Boyle,* who in 1777
* The Hon Mrs. O'Neill lived in happy retirement in Raymond

350 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

was married to the Right Hon. John O'Neill, caused
Raymond Cottage to be built in a wood, growing on a mossy
bank which rises from the shore, at the southern end of
Lough Beg. The cottage was enlarged by both Charles, Earl
O'Neill, and the late John, Viscount O'Neill.

Paymount, Duneane, was the residence of Captain Wm.
Dobbin, who was married to Sarah, the youngest sister of
French John O'Neill.

The first of the Jones family who occupied Moneyglass,
Mr. William Morres Jones, was descended from the
ancient "Welsh family of Jones, of Ystrad, in the County of
Carmarthen, from which his grandfather came to Ireland, in
the reign of Charles II. Mr. William Morres Jones, after
his marriage in 1719, with Miss Annie Dobbin, niece of
French John O'Neill, came to reside in the County of
Antrim, and obtained from French John O'Neill, a lease,

Cottage, with her children, Charles H. St. John, and John Bruce,
who were destined to be the last of their name who would own the
broad lands which, for so many ages, belonged to the O'Neill's. See
Letters of the late Charles H. O'Neill, Dublin, to the Editor of the
Belfast Mercury. The substance of Mr. O'Neill's Letters is given in
these pages when treating of the parishes of Drummaul and
Duneane. The Hon. Mrs. O'Neill composed the touching poetic
composition — " On seeing my sons at play," which begins : —
Sweet age of blest delusion ! blooming boys,
Ah revel long in childhood's thoughtless toys,
With light and pliant spirits that can stoop
To follow sportively the rolling hoop ;
To watch the spinning top with gay delight
Or mark, with raptured gaze the sailing kite ;
Or eagerly pursuing pleasure's call,
Can find it centered in the bounding ball.
Alas ! the day will come when sports like these
Must loose their magic and their power to please,
Too swiftly fled the rosy hours of youth
Shall yield their fairy forms to mournful truth.

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 351

dated, loth April, 1726, of the townland of Moneyglass, for
a term of three lives renewable for ever, at the yearly rent
of £25, and a-half year's rent, renewal fine, at the fall of
oach life. He was a gentleman of generous hospitality. It
was in his honour that Carolan, when on a visit to Money-
glass in 1730, composed the celebrated planxty, Bumper
Squire Jones, which, as observed by Walker, " though one
of Carolan's most brilliant effusions is lost in the splendour
of the facetious Baron Dawson's paraphrase." Mr. Jones
died in 1735, and was succeeded by his only son, Thomas
Morres Jones, who died in 1769. He left two sons, Robert
and Thomas Morres, tlie former entered into possession of
the family estates, and the latter having married Miss Letitia
Hamilton, resided in Drumderg House, (now the residence
of Mr. O'Neill, then called Joy-Brook), until 1775, when he
succeeded to the family estates on the death of his brother.
Captain Thomas Morres Hamilton Jones, and Mr. Hendrick
Morres Hamilton J ones succeeded successively, on the death
of their father, to the property. Thomas Morres Hamilton
Jones, the son of the latter, was the succeeding proprietor;
and at his death in 1881, he was succeeded by his son, the
present proprietor.

In the townland of Killylaes is the Cemetery of Temple-
moyle. In it was the church of the Grange of Ballyscullion,
or, as it was called in the Ulster Visitation Book of 1622,
the Grange of Feevagh, where it is stated that it is possessed
by Sir Hugh Clotworthy Knight. An Inquisition, held at
the Sessions Hall, Carrickfergus, 30th April, 1631, found
thaj " Hugh Clotworthy, Knight, being seized as fee of the
little territory of Grange, containing 7 townlands, and
of the town of Ballydergally, Ballyntemple, otherwise
Templeeaglishe, Balliveigh, Ballycullyveogh, Balliknock, and

352 DIOCESE OF CONXOR.

Ballycullygarvohie, in the Tuough of Mounterkelly, parcel of
the possession of the late monastery of St. Peter and Paul, of
Armagh, died on the last day of February, 1630. Foresaid
are held of the King, in free and common stockage, and by
an annual rent." The old name of Killylaes was Ballin-
temple, or Templeaglish. The Grange of Ballyscullion
seems to be so named because it adjoins a part of the parish
of Ballyscullion* — that parish belongs to the diocese of Derry.

" The Parish of Ballysculliorj takes its name from the O'Scullions,
its Herenachs ; but the ancient name of the Parish of Ballyscullion
was Inis-Toide— "the Island of Toit." The " Martyrology of Donegal"
enters, under the 7th of September, " Toit, of Inis-Toide, in Lough-
Beg, in Hy-Tuirtre." The name of St. Toit, under the form of St,
Ted, is still locally remembered. The steeple and spire, which so
much contribute to the scenic beauty of the island and lake, were
erected in 1788, by the Earl of Bristol, the Protestant Bishop of
Derry. In 1642, the church was in the same state of ruin, in which
it is at present ; it was then fortified as a military station by an
English officer, named Payne Fisher, who has given a humorous de-
scription of his exploits in that neighbourhood, which the late Mr.
Pinkerton published in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol. VIL

At last about Bellaghy, a mile

Or more, we spyed a little isle,

In this sad desert all alone,

Stands an old Church quite overgrowne

With age, and ivie ; of little use

Unless it were for some recluse.

To this sad church my men I led,

And lodged the living mong ye dead,

"Without we keepe a Guard ; within

The chancell's made our Magazine

Soe that our church thus arm'd may vaunt

Shee's truly now made militant.
Richard Dobbs in his Description of the County of Antrim, written
in 1683, says of Church Island — there " several of the Irish bury
their friends, both from the County of Antrim and Londonderry,
especially Derry. There may be had store of Moss, that grows on
dead men's skulls, useful in staunching of blood, and said to be a
great ingredient; in making Sympathetic powder."

THE PAEISH OP DUNEANE. 353

The lands of the Grange are held under Lord Massareene,
the representative of Sir John Clotworthy, to whom they
had been granted in the reign of James I. The graveyard
contains half an acre ; the foundations of the church
formerly measured 25 feet in length in the inside ; the walls
are said to have been pulled down for material to build the
graveyard wall. There is an ancient well a little west of the
site, which was once considered a Holy Well. A. natural
rock protrudes from the surface of a hill, two fields from the
graveyard, which is called a " Standing Stone." The church
is called Temple Moyle — the bald or unfinished church,
and a legend is told that St. Patrick (others say St.
Bridget), was engaged building a church on the site when
"the Black Pig" rushed' past, and some of the foam from its
mouth having fallen into the beer which was prepared for
the workmen's dinners, such a madness seized them, that the
building was discontinued ; and the saint was warned in a
vision, to seek, as a site for the church, the place where he,
(or she), would see two birds perched on the horns of a deer.
That site was found at Duneane — Dun-da-en — "the fort of
the two birds."

CHURCHES.

Moneyglass Church was commenced in 1786, but was not
roofed till about 1798. It was much improved in 1826, by
Father Magreevy.

Cargan Church was built in 1821, by the Be v. John
MacMullan, and very much improved by Father Magreevy;
it was dedicated on the 29th of June, 1829.

In times of persecution, and until the erection of these
churches, Mass was celebrated in various places. There was
a Mass Station at Rigbey's Rocks, in Cloghogre; a second at

354 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

M'Mullan's Rocks, in Muckrim ; a third at Bess Rocks, in
Ballylurgan, in the farm which at present belongs to Arthur
M'Cann ; a fourth at Killyfad, in a field which at present
belongs to Hugh Laverty ; a fifth at a place called "the old
altar," in the farm at present belonging to Samuel Duffin,
in Aghacarnaghan ; a sixth at Gortgill, in Henry Donnell's
farm ; and a seventh in " the Mass Garden," in Thomson's
farm, in Carlane. The great Mass Station for the Money-
glass district of the parish, was on the site of the present
church ; another favourite Mass Station, though at present
incorporated, in the Parish of Drutnmaul, was inside the
graveyard of Cranfield, to the N.E. of the church.

PARISH PRIESTS.

Cormac O'Sheale, aged 65 years, residing in the Feevagh,
is returned in the list of Popish Parish Priests in 1704, as
Parish Priest ot Duneane, Cranfield, and the grange of Bally-
scullion. He received orders in 1662, at Clonmacnoise,
from Anthony Geoghegan, Bishop of Clonmacnoise. In
1704, his sureties were Bryan O'Neill, of Derryullagh, gent,
and Patrick O'Sheale, of Grega (Grogan in the Parish of
Drummaul), gentleman, each of whom bailed him in X50.
Cormac O'Sheale is returned in the list of priests of the
Diocese of Connor, which Primate Oliver Plunket sent to
Rome in November, 1670.

We have no record to tell when Father O'Sheale died, but
there was, forty years ago, a tradition that a Father Maynes
was parish priest, about the year 1725.

The next parish priest was the Very Rev. Henry M'Corry,
who seems to have been a native of the parish. He was
Vicar-General and Dean of Connor; he died March 15th,

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 355

1757, and was buried in the Church-yard of Duneane. On
his grave-stone, which is at present injured, is inscribed —
. . . M'Corry,
. . . and Vicar of

The Diocese of Connor,

And Pastor of the Parish

Of Duneane, who

Departed this Life,

15th of March, 1757,

Aged 59.

The Very Rev. Henry M'Corry was succeeded by a Father
M'Veigh,* who was a native of Killead, and who died
about 1768.

The next parish priest was Father Paul M'Cartan, who
had the spiritual charge of Duneane, until 1775, when he
was appointed to Saul, where he became Dean of Down, and
died in 1821, aged 82 years.

The Rev. Felix Cunningham, a native of Mourne, was
appointed in 1775. About this time, the Rev. Henry
M'Corry, jun. a native of Duneane, and a nephew of the
late Dean M'Corry, officiated as Curate, he afterwards went
out as a missionary to the Island of St. Domingo, and on his
return, died in London. The Rev. Cormac O'Hagan, after-
wards Parish Priest of Kilcoo, officiated as Curate in 1790.
The Rev. Hugh O'Devlin, a native of Duneane Parish, who

* The following Return was made to the House of Lords : —
"Families in the United Parishes of Duneane and Cranfield, 329 —
Protestants, 200 ; Papists, 129 ; Popish Priest, 1 ; Friar, 0.

"JOHN BARRY, Vicar,
"Duneane, 15th March, 1766."

In 1881, the population of those two parishes consisted of —
Catholics, 2801 ; all others, 1407. The Grange of Ballyscullion,
which in the Catholic arrangement, is united with Duneane, had in
1881, Catholics, 1004 ; all others, 1857. It would seem that the
population of the Catholic Parish of Duneane, consisted in 1881, of
about 3694 Catholics, and 3184 Non- Catholics.

356 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

was ordained at the Stone-park, Erinagh in 1789, by Dr.
Hugh MacMullan, also officiated here towards the end of his
life ; he is buried under a stone, now almost covered with
earth, at the east end of Duneane Church; on it is inscribed,
" Here lyeth the remains of the Rev. Hugh O'Devlin, who
died in the year 1793." The grave of another priest named
Maddigan, is pointed out in the same graveyard, but nothing
can be learned of his history. The Rev. Felix Cunningham
was, for some cause, deprived of the parish in 1790, he died
in 1802.

The Rev. Hugh Devlin, who was a native of Creeve. in
the Parish of Duneane, was appointed in 1793. He had
previously been Parish Priest of Ballymena. He died in
Gloverstown in 1804.*

Father Devlin was succeeded by Father John MacMullan,
who was a nephew of the Most Rev. Dr. Hugh MacMullan,
and was an uncle of the Rev. Richard M'Mullan, of Bright.

* The following resolution of Catholics of Duneane, condemning
Emmet's rebellion, appears in the Belfast News-Letter.
"KOMAN CATHOLIC RESOLUTION.
"7th august, 1803.

" Eesolved — That we most solemnty pledge ourselves and declare,
that we have neither hatred nor malice towards persons differing
from us in religious persuasion, but, on the contrary, are ready with
hearts and hands to join our noble Governor, EARL O'NEILL, our
worthy neighbouring Magistrate, THOMAS MORRIS JONES, Esq.,
and all other loyal subjects (let their profession be what it may), in
support of the best of Kings, his Crown and Laws, against Foreign
Invaders, and traitorous lurking Domestic Rebels.

"With heartfelt pain we have heard of the abominable acts com-
mitted in Dublin, and shall take care that such damnable principles
will never make their way into our Parishes.

" Signed on behalf of the Rev. Mr. DEVLIN, Parish Priest, and

600 Roman Catholic Parishioners of Duneane, Grange, Cranrield, and

Ballyscullenbeg.

PATRICK SMYTH."

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 357

He studied in the College of the Noble Irish, in Salamanca.
Dr. Patrick MacMullan, writing to Dr. Curtis, then Presi-
dent of the College, in a letter, dated, " Kilmegan, die quinta
Mensis Maii Ann. Sal. 1797," requests him to permit James
MacMullan (afterwards parish priest of Glenavy), to study
"in loco, quern in praedicto collegio aliquo abhinc tempore
occupavit Reverendus Joannes MacMullan, hujus quoque
diocesis alumnus, at deinde, consueto studiorum curriculo
completo, in suam patriam ad vineam Domini pro viribus
excollendam, reversit." Dr. Curtis, writing, Dec. 10th, 1819,
to Dr. Patrick MacMullan, in reference to Cardinal
Fontana's letter, regarding proselytising schools, which were
entraping Catholic children, adds — " I had a letter some
days ago from Rev. J. MacMullan, a subject, and I believe,
a relative of your lordship, and a nephew of your venerable
predecessor. He studied in Salamanca, and merited my
esteem, which obliges me to recommend him particularly to
your favour." Father MacMullan was appointed, in 1804,
to Duneane, which he held until 1810, when, in conse-
quence of some dispute with his parishioners, he accepted
of the parish of Kilkeel, vacant by the death of the Rev.
John MacArtan.

The parish of Duneane was offered to Father MacMullan,
P.P., Rasharkin, who did not accept it, but continued for
some time its Administrator, while the duties were dis-
charged by several clergymen, among others, by the Rev.
Matthew Mor M'Lernon, and by the Rev. Daniel M'Artan,
a native of Ballykilbeg, in the parish of Down, who was
sent to Duneane from the curacy of Kilkeel. On the
11th March, 1811, Father Bradley, afterwards Curate of
Loughinisland, and Father O'Neill, afterwards Parish
Priest of Kilcoo, were ordained, and officiated under Father

358 diocese or connor.

MacMullan, P.P., Rasharkin, in the various parishes at that
time placed under his spiritual charge.

The Rev. Roger Murray, who was a native of Carlane, in
the Parish, was appointed from the parish of Armoy to the
Parish of Duneane, at Easter, 1811. He resigned the parish
at the June Conference, 1812, and retired on a pension of <£15.
He died in June, 1823, and was interred in Cranfield.

Father MacMullan, P.P., Kilkeel, was re-appointed on
the resignation of Father Murray. He died on the 24th of
August, 1824,* in consequence of his jaw having been broken
during the extraction of a tooth.

Father MacMullan was succeeded by Father Denis
Magreevy. He was a native of Ballynagalliagh, in the
Parish of Bright ; was ordained along with Father Con-
stantine O'Boyle, by Dr. MacMullan, in September, 1806 ;
after which, he studied in the Irish College of Lisbon, from
which he had to fly when the French were advancing on that
city ; he completed his studies in Kilkenny ; after being a
short time on the mission, he was sent to Derryaghy, which
was conferred on him in 1812 ; he was appointed to Duneane
in December, 1824. Having resigned the parish in August,
1847, he retired on a pension of £25; towards the end of
his life he resided in Newtownards, where he died, January
3 1st, 1867, and was interred in Movilla. His grave-stone
bears the following inscription : —

Juravit Dominus et non poenitebit eum : Tu es sacerdos

in aternum secundum ordinem Melchisedeck, Ps. cix. 4.

Of your charity,

Pray for the soul of the

Rev. Denis Magreevy,

Superannuated P.P.,

* A letter written by Father Magreevy, states that Father
MacMullan died on the 13th of November, 1824.

THE PARISH OF DUNEANE. 359

Duneane. Co. 'Antrim,

Who departed this life
In Newtownards.
1867.
The Rev. Samuel Young, succeeded on the resignation of
Father Magreevy. Father Young was born in Killead, in
the year 1802 ; entered the Rhetoric Class, in the College of
Maynooth, August 25th, 1826 ; was ordained by Dr. Crolly,
in Belfast, in 1830; was appointed Curate of Larne, from
which he was appointed Parish Priest of Glenarm, July,
1834; was appointed Parish Priest of Aghagallon, November
3rd, 1840, from which he was appointed to Duneane in
August, 1847. He died on the 23rd of January, 1862.
After the death of Father Young, the parish was adminis-
tered by his Curate, Father William Curoe (afterwards
Parish Priest of Rasharkin.)

The Rev. James M'Glenon was appointed on the 3rd of
September, 1862. Father M'G-lenon was a native of the
townland of Tievenadarragh, in the Parish of Loughinisland ;
after studying in the Diocesan College, he entered on the
25th of August, 1839, the Logic Class, in the College of
Maynooth ; was ordained by Dr. Murray, in Maynooth, on
the 10th of June, 1843 ; was appointed on the 22nd of Sep-
tember, 1843, Curate of Down; from which he was appointed,
on the 20th of April, 1844, Administrator of Ballycastle; and
on the 3rd of September, 1862, he was appointed to the parish
of Duneane. He died on the 22nd of October, 1869, and
was interred in Cargan.

The Rev. John Cunningham, P.P., Carrickfergus (see
p. 117), was apppointed to the vacant parish, in November,
1869; he died on the 28th of January, 1871, and was in-
terred in Moneyglass. At the head of his grave is erected
a Celtic cross, on which is inscribed—

360 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

IN ME MORI AM.

Of your Charity,
Praj for the repose of the
Soul of the Rev.
John Cunningham, P. P. ,
Duneane,
Who departed this life, 29th
January, 1S71, aged 60 years.
Bequiescat in Pace.

The Rev. William Martin succeeded Father Cunningham.
Father Martin was born near Freshford, in the County of
Kilkenny ; after studying in the College of Kilkenny, he
entered, on the - 16th of January, 1852, the first year's
Theology Class in the College of Maynooth ; was ordained
in Clarendon Street Church, Dublin, by Dr. Whelan, Bishop
of Bombay, on the 16th of November, 1854 ; was appointed
Curate of Belfast, from which he was appointed to Duneane,
in March, 1871. He died of heart-disease, on the 22nd of
February, 1877, at his residence, Brecart Lodge, and was
interred beside two of his predecessors, in front of Cargan
Church. Their monumental stones bear the following
inscriptions : —

Pray for the happy repose of the
Pastors buried here —
The Rev. S. Young,
To whose memory the monument

was first erected,

Who died January 23rd, 1862,

Aged 59 years.

The Rev. J. M'Glenon,

Who died October, 2nd, 1869,

Aged 52 years,

Bequiescat in Pace.

THE PARISH OP DUNEANE. 361

On another stone is inscribed : —

To the Memory of
The Rev. Wm. Martin, P.P., Duneane,
Who died, 22nd February, 1877, aged 49 years.
Requiescat in Pace.

The succeeding Parish Priest was the Rev. Hugh M'Cann.
He was a native of the townland of Ballylough, in the Parish
of Kilmegan ; after having studied in the Diocesan College,
he entered the Rhetoric Class in the College of Maynooth,
on the 27th of September, 1844 ; was ordained in the College
Chapel, by Dr. Murray, on the 2nd of June, 1849; was
appointed Curate of Ballymena, in October, 1849 ; Parish
Priest of Portrush in March, 1852; Parish Priest of Rashark-
in, June 18th, 1864; Parish Priest of Duneane, in April,
1877. He died on the 18th July, 1883, and was interred in
Cargan beside his predecessors. The coffin bore the following
inscription : —

Reverendus Hugo M'Cann, P.P. V.F.,
Obiit Die 18a Julii, 1883,
Aetatis vero Anno 57-
Th e grave-stone is not yet inscribed.

The Rev. Alexander MacMullan, P.P., Antrim, was
appointed to the vacant parish on the 28th of July, 1838
(see p. 296).

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONE.

THE Parish of Portglenone was severed, in 1866, from the
Parish of Ahoghill ; it extends over the district which
was formerly attached to the Church of Aughnahoy ; it
consequently includes the townlands of Killyless, Lisna-
hunshin, and Mayboy, belonging to the civil parish of Craigs ;
and the whole of the civil parish of Portglenone, except the
townlands of Casheltown and Drumraw. The Catholic
population amounts to about 1714.

There are in that parish the following sites of ancient
churches. In Slievenagh is a graveyard, which is yet used ; it
is situated within the Demesne of Mr. Alexander, and is
separated by the County road from the modern Catholic
graveyard, commonly called Aughnahoy Graveyard, though
it is in the townland of Slievenagh. Many Catholic
families continued to inter their dead in this ancient ceme-
tery, although the modern Catholic cemetery, is quite adja-
cent. At a little distance from it there is an ancient Holy
Well, called St. Mary's Well ; pieces of garments used to
be hung on a thorn which overshadowed it ; it is in Mr.
Alexander's demesne.

In the townland of Gortfad there was an ancient burying
place, called " St. Columb's Thorn ;" the site is in the
farm of John Bell. It was a piece of ground twenty
yards long and eleven broad, no way enclosed, but
distinguished from the field, at the side of which it was,

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONfi. 36 5

by its greater height. The last interment in it was that of
a woman named M'Cann, about 1815. It contained a stone
vault, six feet in length and three feet wide, in the form of
a chest, composed of large flags. (M'Skimin's interleaved
Archdall, as cited by Reeves' Ecd. Antiq.) The Ordnance
Memoir MS. states that " St. Columb's Thorn" was cut down
about the year 1770, and that there is a tradition that St.
Columbkille frequently preached there. In 1622, the
Protestant Bishop reports, " Grangia de Gortfadd noe church,
chappie, nor walls. The 2 part of all tithes impropriate to
the Abbey of Armagh, possest by Sir Hugh Clotworthy,
Knight." Sir Hugh had got into his possession the Grange
of Ballyscullion, which also belonged to the Abbey of St,
Peter and St. Paul, at Armagh. Gortfad seems to have been
a place of interment, even in pagan times ; many urns en-
closed in little stone cists, have been found quite close to the
ancient Christian cemetery.

In the townland of Killycoogan there is the site of an
ancient cemetery, at which Mass was said during the times
of persecution. The place, which is in the farm of Thomas
Simpson, is called " The Burial Field." In an Inquisition,
held regarding the property, which Edmund Stafford, who
died in 1644, leased from Sir Henry O'Neill, Killycoogan
is called " Ballykillterogher, otherwise Ballykilltegogan." —
See Ulster Inquisitions.

The townland of Craigs, which, though in the barony
of Kilconway, was until 1840 in the civil parish of Ahoghill,
contains the site of an ancient church. This townland is
locally called " the four towns of Craigs," and consists of the
sub-denominations of Aughnakeely, Groogath, Carhuny, and
Grannagh. The site of the church and the ancient burying-
ground is in Aughnakeely. In the Taxation of Pope-

364 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Nicholas, " the church of Clemly," which was valued at 20/-,
occurs between the churches of Ahoghill and Rasharkin ;
this location exactly corresponds with the situation of the
church in Aughnakeely. It is probable, however, that the
reading Clemly should be Demly, for the compiler of the
Ordnance Memoir MS. learned from tradition that it was
destroyed in the war of 1641, and that its name in Irish was
" Donelly's Cell." If its name was Kildemly, the people
would easily attempt its translation into Donelly's Cell. Dr.
Reeves thinks that it is the church which Colgan, Trias
Thaum, p. 182, speaks of under the name of Achadh-na-cille,
and describes it as situate in the boundaries of Dalrieda. That
territory terminated at the southern boundary of the townjand
of Craigs. Colgan conjectures that Achadnacille may be the
Achadh-cinn mentioned by the Four Masters, A.D., 554.
" St. Cathub, son of Fearghus, Abbot of Achadh-cinn, died
on the 6th of April. One hundred and fifty years was the
length of his life." In the Annals of Ulster he is called
Cathal MacFergusa, Bishop of Achid-cinn. That Augh-
nakeely is the Achadh-cinn referred to is only a con-
jecture of Colgan. This church is not entered either in
the Terrier or the Visitation Book of 1622.

In the townland of Finkiltagh there was an ancient grave-
yard, at the entrance to which were two large stones, one of
which was hollowed out, so as to form a Holy water font.
The site is in the farm of Samuel M'Keown.

In the townland of Tullynahinnion, there is, in a narrow
ravine along the stream, a place called "the Altar Green,"
in which was a pile of stones that was removed in 1832.
It is now subjected to agricultural purposes, and, as no
human remains were found at it, it is supposed that it was
merely one of the'places used by Catholics for the celebration

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONE. 365

of Mass during the times of persecution. It may, however,
have been the scene of ancient stations, in connection with
the church of Finkiltagh, as there is beside it a remarkable
well, now called "Gillin's Well." A broad flat stone at the
Altar Green is called " The Altar Stone ; " it is in the farm
of Adam Thompson. In Finkiltagh there is a remark-
able Standing Stone, called the "Giant's Finger Stone,"
which in popular estimation, is supposed to have some
connection with a Standing Stone, called the Bullock's
Track, in Lisnahunshin, and with a Standing Stone in Moy-
larg. The Lisnahunshin stone, which receives its name from
a cavity in it resembling a bullock's hoof, was overturned
about fifty years ago, by treasure seekers. It is a block of
an irregular triangular shape, 5 feet 8 inches long, 3 feet 4
inches wide, and 2 feet thick. The position of this stone
in the immediate vicinity of the ancient public road from
Belfast, which led through Ahoghill to Coleraine, serves as
another argument that these Standing Stones were intended
to indicate to travellers the line of road. Near it is a place
called the '•' Tory Holes," where it is said that the Tories
waited for travellers. Sundry virtues, according to the
usual Irish superstition, were supposed to be in the water
. which lay in the Bullock's Track. A Stone Circle formerly
stood in Finkiltagh, at the distance of six chains S.W. of the
Giant's Finger Stone. It was one chain in diameter ; six of
the stones still remain, they are of various forms, are from 3
to 5 feet high, and stand at a distance of only a few inches
from each other. In the same townland there was formerly
a large cairn ; when it was cleared away a neatly paved
hearth was found in the centre. The dimensions of the
cairn were not ascertained. Another Stone Circle formerly
stood in Slievenagh, on a rocky knoll, immediately adjoining

366 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Mr. Alexander's demesne. In 1822, when the place -was
being planted with fir trees, a search was made in it for
gold, when many of the principal stones were removed. A
Cromleach stood at the northern side of it, which was also
overturned. In 1817, a great many silver coins were found
among the stones, which circumstance occasioned the ruin of
the monument. See Ord. Memoir MS. There is a Stand-
in** Stone in Aughnahoy, but it seems to mark an ancient
paved road, which passed along its side. Another Standing
Stone, visible at a great distance, occupies a high ground in
Kilcurry. In the Largy Bog, there is a place called Tam-
laaht, where human bones have been found.

The Castle of Portglenone stood at the distance of five
chains from the edge of the Bann, and at the western end
of the street. It was in former years the residence of Sir
Francis Stafford Knight, who was Governor of Ulster in the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, and whose daughter, Martha,
married Sir Henry O'Neill, of Edenduffcarrick, father of Rose
O'Neill, the Marchioness of Antrim. It afterwards was
occupied by Sir Faithful Fortescue,* a nephew of Sir Arthur

* Sir Faithful Fortescue's seal was found in the Bann, opposite to
the boat-house, and given to the late N. Alexander, Esq., M.P.
Sir Faithful obtained from Shane M'Brian a grant of Gortfad,
Slievnagh and Ballynafie, which he transferred to one, Con Boy
Magennis, of Gortfad, and Elizabeth, his wife — Ulster Inquis. — who
were probably relations of Shane's first wife, Rose, sister of Arthur,
first "Viscount Iveagh. Sir Henry O'Neill afterwards made to his
brother-in-law,* Sir Edward Stafford, of MountstafFord, Knight, a

* Sir Henry O'Neill, as has been said, became a Protestant ; the following letter
from Secretary Conway to the Lord Deputy Wentworth, shows that there were
important disputes between the brothers-in-law : —

" My Lord, — Although your justice and courtesy be sufficiently manifested in
Ireland to make all men know that it is a harder matter for them to temper their
desires to aske fitt things than to obtain just and convenient requests ; yet this
Gentleman, Sir Henry O'Neale, as if he were a Papist, and did think it sauciness to
come to the Supreame Power mmediately without an intercessor, hath desyred mee

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONE. 367

Chichester, and the purchaser of the Galgorm and Ballymena
estates. At a later period it became the residence of Francis
Hutchinson, Protestant Bishop of Down and Connor ; his
grandson, Charles Hamilton, afterwards resided in it as did
also Mr. St. John O'Neill, uncle to the late Lord O'Neill,
The old castle was pulled down and the present mansion
erected, on a more elevated site, about the year 1810, by Dr.
Alexander, the Protestant Bishop. Dr. Nathaniel Alexander
was nephew of James, the first Earl of Caledon ; he married
Anne Jackson, daughter, and finally representative, of the
Bight Hon. Bichard Jackson, of Jackson Hall, Coleraine,
and his wife Anne O'Neill, aunt of the late Lord O'Neill.
Dr. Alexander, about the year 1800, acquired, by purchase,
very considerable estates — The Portglenone, Staffordstown,
Duneane and Cranfield estates. The Portglenone estate
consisted of Glenone, on the west side of the Bann, the town

more extensive grant of nearly all the townlands extending from
Drumraw to Kiliycoogan, with the exception of what was called the
Gorfcgole estate. For this immense territory and Staffordstown
estate, a chiefry of £5 was reserved, which, to this day, is paid to
Lord O'Neill. Sir Edmund Stafford died in 1644, and was succeeded
by his grandson, Francis Stafford, or Echlin, This large estate has
been broken up. The Gortgole estate, consisting of Gortgole, Maboy,
Killyless. Lisnahunshin, Loan, and Drumrankin, was granted by

Sir Henry O'Neill, to one Duffe O'Neill, of Gortgole, "who,

being so seized, did in the year 1642, engage in actual hostility and
rebellion, whereby the premises became forfeited." — Ulster Inquis.
The estate consequently reverted to the Shane's Castle family, who
still possess it. Some families in Lisnahunshin named O'Neill,
presented, about 1846, a petition to Lord O'Neill, showing their
descent from the forfeiting O'Neill, and obtained from his Lordship
a remission of arrears of rent due by them.

to be an humble suitor to you, to be pleased hear and put an end to a Difference
that he hath with his brother-in-law, Mr. Stafford. His cause he will best relate
himself ; for his Person every one will say he is an Honest Man, and I assure you,
you will find him an Israelite in whom there is no Guile.

London, April 25, 1635. Conway & Kilulta."

Stafford's Letters and Despatches, Vol. I., p. 414.

368 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

of Portglenone, Slievenagh, Mulliusallagh, and part of
Gortfad. After the death , of the late N. Alexander, Esq.,
M.P., this estate and the Staffordstown estate were sold in
the Encumbered Estates' Court. Mr. Casement became the
purchaser of the Mansion-house and demesne. Mr. Jones,
of Money glass, purchased the town of Portglenone, and the
chief part of Staffordstown ; and Mr. Andrew Orr purchased
the townland of Glenone. Robert, son of the late Nathaniel
Alexander, afterwards repurchased the demesne and Mansion-
house of Portglenone. It is said that in consequence of
some incautious expressions of Dr. Alexander, boasting that
the O'Neill estates would come to his family, which were
industriously communicated to Charles, Earl O'Neill, the
Earl, by his will, dated 1832, and confirmed by a codicil,
Feb. 29th, 1840, settled his estates, on the death of his
brother, John, afterwards Lord O'Neill, and of his cousin,
Sir. George Jackson, without issue, to his second cousin
Sir. Arthur Chichester, Baronet, with remainder to his
brother and his sons, under which the estates passed to Rev.
Mr. Chichester, afterwards Lord O'Neill.

Portglenone Castle was intended to guard the ford over
the river, which must have been of very great importance
foom the remotest ages, judging from the vast amount of
weapons discovered there, during the deepening of the river
oy the Board of Works, about a.d. 1851 and following
years.* There was formerly a ferry here, which was

* The following is the substance of a Paper, written by the writer
on the " Relative Antiquity of Stone and Bronze Weapons," which
was published in the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol. V. The
relative antiquity of the stone and bronze periods in Europe, has
long been a disputed question. Wilson, in his Pre- Historic Annals
of Scotland, follows out a theory of the Danish archaeologist,
Thomsen, and divides the past time iuto — 1st, the Stone Period ;

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONE. 369

abolished by Chief Justice Povey. Richard Dobbs, in his
Brief e Description of the County of Antrim, written in
1683, says —

" Through Portglenone and town formerly was a ferry till this
bridge was built, when Povey was Lord Chief Justice of Ireland,
who gave a stop to the same on some private interest, then best
known to himself. However, it was erected, and is one of the best
(yet not the best timber bridge), in the kingdom ; there are seats
upon it to view the pleasures of the Band water, and a draw- bridge
taken up, or that may be taken up by four or six men every night,
to keep night-walkers from passing or repassing, and likewise, a very
strong double gate ; this is the door from and to the County of
Derry, to and from Antrim ; and the argument against the building
was that Torys would pass and repass that way ; the Torys of Derry
having committed ?everal robberies in the County of Antrim — never
passed that way, but came over in a private ferry 2 or 3 miles above,
or by making up of cotts some miles below the bridge."

The ford formed in the "Reign of Queen Elizabeth, the
principal means of communication between the two parts of

2nd, the Bronze Period ; 3rd, the Iron Period ; 4th, the Christian
Period. The theory at first sight, seems very plausible ; but it is
inconsistent with the account given in Genesis, where we find it
stated that Tubal Cain "was a hammerer and artificer in every work
of brass andiron," at a period long antecedent to our " Pre-historic
times. " Indeed it would seem that we place too much reliance on
our theories of the gradual dcvelopement of the arts ; in good truth,
if they were correct, we must suppose Noe and his sons to have been
mere savages ; and then the most extended scheme of chronology
would be insufficient to educate men to rear the pyramids of Egypt,
or to decorate the sculptured palaces of Assyria. The public works
for improving the navigation of the Bann, at Portglenone, presented
an excellent opportunity for investigating the relative antiquities of
stone and bronze weapons in Ireland ; as the river was, in the pro-
gress of the operations, in part, turned off its natural course. The
residence of the writer in the immediate vicinity, afforded him ample
means of making observations on the subject. The original bed of
the Bann, at the place mentioned, consisted principally of a whitish
clay, over which, in process of time, a quantity of sand and small
atones, rolled down by the water, had formed a scratum varying in

Y

370 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

the territory occupied by the renowned Chief Brian Carragh
O'Neill, who died about the year 1586. In Marshal Bagenal's
" Description of Ulster," written in that year, the territory

depth from six to fourteen inches, and in some places to two
and three feet, in this were deposited a vast number of ancient
weapons and other objects of antiquity, the depths at which
they were found corresponding, it may be reasonably concluded,
with the relative ages of the classes of antiquities to which they
belong. Arrow-heads, made of a light grey flint, were, as a class,
found at the greatest depth. These were of two kinds, the barbed and
the lozenge-shaped ; but each exhibited an equal skill in their manu-
facture. Specimens of both kinds were found in great abundance ;
however, I should say, the lozenge-shaped arrow-heads were more
numerous. I have mentioned that the grey ^flint arrow-head was
as a class, found at the greatest depth ; to this I saw one very
marked exception, where a thin triangular piece of bronze — a javelin
head, or blade of a knife, having three holes by which it had been
secured to its shaft, and weighing half-an-ounce, was found with a
cuneiform weapon of grey flint, the stone-axe, called by the
people "a thunderbolt;" near this, but on a higher stratum
were deposited several barbed arrow-heads of flint. The bronze
articles were found in a stratum immediately above that of the flint
arrow-heads. They were mostly military weapons, consisting of
leaf-shaped swords, and a few swords, partaking of the nature of a
dagger ; a bronze scabbard-end, bronze skians, and a great number
of spear-heads, some of which had lateral loops, and others rivet
holes ; and in the sockets of many of them portions of the wooden
shafts still remained. The black cuneiform stone hatchets, and a
kind of rude spear-head of red flint, according to the evidence
afforded by their position, must be the most modern of all ancient
weapons previous to introduction of iron. Many were found almost
on the surface of .the river's bed, and none were found below the
bronze articles. After a careful investigation I am led to believe
that the earliest inhabitants of that locality came from some country
where the art of making stone arrow-heads had arrived at perfection :
hence, we find no progressive development of the art in the arrow-
heads found in the Bann. On the contrary, the most finished article
is found at the greatest depth, while the rudely formed arrow-head
of red flint is found on the surface of the river's bed. We may
account for the exceptional case of the bronze weapon found at a

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONE. 371

is thus described — " Brian Caraghe's countrey was a portion
of Northe Clandeboy, Avon from it by a bastard kinde of
Scottes, of the sept of Clandonells, who entered the same,

greater depth than the barbed flint arrow-heads, by supposing that
the chiefs and rich men were armed with bronze weapons at a period
when the scarcity of metals compelled the clansmen to shoot from
their bows stone-headed arrows. From the fact of the stone arrow-
heads not being found in such numbers in the same stratum with
the bronze weapons, as they were in that immediately below it, we
might conclude that the primitive warriors who used them, were
conquered by the people who used the bronze weapons. Yet, these
latter seem in part to have used arrow-heads of stone, as many such
were found among the bronze articles ; but they were not so well
formed, and seemed evidently the work of a different people, or of
a people who had abandoned their old arts, in which they had been
so well skilled. I am of opinion, that while the people fabricated,
of bronze, their swords, skians, and other weapons, with which
they struck or stabbed their enemies, they continued to make of
stone, as a cheaper material, all weapons intended to be thrown
from the hand, and, therefore, exposed to be lost. I also think,
that having learned by experience that ornamentation and even
barbs were useless ; since a piece of sharp flint pushed into a cleft
shaft would effect its deadly purpose equally as well as the most
expensive barbed arrow-head — they adopted the cheaper mode of
making them. A chip is taken off each arrow-head in order to allow
it more conveniently to be pushed into the shaft, which, for that
purpose, seems to have been slightly cleft. It is in this way that
the savages of the Polynesian Isles still secure their arrows. In
many instances our arrow-heads were broader than the diameter of
the shaft, having indentations on the sides, evidently intended for the
<*ords with which they were fastened to the shaft. The black cunei-
form stone hatchets, being found on the surface of the bed of the
Bann, are consequently the most modern of the stone and bronze
periods, and they are the most numerous, for with these the surface
of the river's bed seemed almost literally covered. They were not,
therefore, as some antiquarians suppose, the prototype of the bronze
hatchets, which resemble them in form. On the contrary, it would
seem that owing to the scarcity and dearness of the metals, the stone
was substituted for the metallic weapon. Theorising antiquarians,
who have never descended into the "navvies " pit, would pronounce

372 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

and do yet holde it, being a very stronge piece of lande,
lienge uppon the north side of the Bande. The name of the
nowe Capten thereof is Brian Caraghe, who possessethe
likewise another piece of a countrey of Tyron side upon the
Band, for which he doth contribute to O'Nele, and for his

the course bronze celt, full of air holes, and evidently cast in sand, to
have been the first rude attempt of the savage inhabitants to imitate
in bronze their older cuneiform stone hatchet ; but this theory is
contradicted by the relative positions in which both articles are
found in the Bann. It is very probable, that, through the whole of
the so-called bronze period, metal was so scarce that it was necessary
to economise it ; hence our ancestors made of stone their battle-axes,
which required both size and weight, and which would, therefore,
have been very expensive if made of bronze, Though these weapons
may have been used as carpenter's tools, they seem to have been
principally used as battle-axes ; otherwise, how account for the great
numbers of them which were found at the old ford of Portglenone ?
Carpenters do not throw away their tools when crossing a ford, but
soldiers may, for obvious reasons, drop their battle-axes. Such axes
seem to have been secured to the handles by thongs or twigs — a
method still practised by the inhabitants of New Zealand. I have
seen a portion of a handle of one of the stone axes, which was found
near Ballymena. It consisted simply of a shaft in which there was
a hole bored, through which the small end of the hatchet passed, it
had been secured in this position, probably by twigs or cords. The
beautiful stone battle-axe in my collection, of which an engraving is
given in the Ulster Journal of Arclicelogy, Vol. III., p. 234, and the
stone clubs, one of which is engraved in the same journal, Vol.
V., p. 127., were found in the Bann, at Portglenone. My
collection of antiquities was almost entirely obtained at this
ford. It also enriched the collection of the late Mr. Benn,
that of the Royal Irish Academy, and many other collections.
The neighbourhood of Portglenone is very rich in antiquities. I
obtained a bronze vessel that was found in Aughnahoy, it is shaped
like the modern coffee pot, which, being modelled after classic
vessels, preserves an antique form. Six or seven similar vessels
have been found in Ireland ; a drawing of one of them, which was
found near Portaferry, is given by Vallancey- they testify to the
skill and taste of the ancient workers in metal.

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONE. 373

landes on the northe side to them of Clandeboye ; by reason
of the fastnes and strengthe of his countrey, having succour
and frendes on each side of the Band, it is very hard to
harme him, which maketh him so obstinate and careless as
he never yet wold appeare before any Deputie, but yeldethe
still what relife he can to the Scottes. His force in people
is very smale, he standeth onlie on the strength of his
countrey, which in dede is the fastest grownde of Ireland."
This Brian was great-grandson of Domhnall Donn (Donnell
the Brown) O'Neill, the son of Hugh Boy, the Second.
This Domhnell Donn, who lived about the year 1500, was
the founder of a sept, the Clann Domhnaill Duin na bana —
"the Clann of Donnell Donn, of the Bann," who were located
on the Antrim side of the Bann. Marshal Bagenal seems
to have confounded this Clan Donnell Donn with the Clan-
donells, or MacDonnells, of Scotland. From this mistake
he calls the followers of Brian Carrach "a bastard kind of
Scottes." It may be, however, that large numbers of
Highlanders were employed by Brian to protect his country,
and there is a tradition that the M'Erlains, who are so
numerous in the locality, are a portion of the Scotch clan,
M'Clean, or Mac-Gilla-Eoin, which in the Four Masters,
under the year 1559, assumes the form MacGilleain — not
unlike its modern form. Brian Carragh, according to
tradition, resided in a fortified island, in the Grreen Lough,
at Inishrush. A curious account of an attack made on this
Island, contained in a letter written by Allister M'Connell
(M'Donnell), and dated 10th of December, 1566, is published
in the Ulster Journal ofArchcelogy, Vol. VII. In it Allister
tells Captain Piers that he^ had brought his forces to the
Bann, and among other acts of hostility against Brian
Carrach, that he had " burnt all his contre (country) with many

374 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

wyffs and Barnis (wives and children), and had taken ane
Innyse yt Brean Karriche hade (an Inis — an Island — that
Brian Carrach had)."

A similar fortified island was in Lough Tammin, in the
townland of Lisnahunshin. The Antrim Inquisition of
1605, speaking of the Tuogh de Muntercallie* says — " there
is in the same Tuogh a certain lough or pool called Lough-
toman, in which there is a fortified island," The tuogh, or
district of Muntercallie — in Irish, Muinter Cheallaigh, "the
family of Ceallagh," included that part of the former civil
Parish of Ahoghill, which was west of the Main Water.
Lough Tammin was drained by orders of Lord O'Neill, about
the year 1812 ; before that period, it submerged about thirty
Irish acres — the water varying from seven to ten feet. The
artificial island, which was situate near the centre, was
circular, containing about ten square perches. Dr. Reeves,
in a communication read before the Royal Irish Academy,
says — " It (the island), was visible, even before the drainage,
and had a stone house upon it, said to have been a stronghold
of the M'Quillan's. The island was of a circular form,
about seventy yards in diameter. In the draining operations
the main cut was carried across the long diameter of the

* The word Largy, in Irish Learga, signifies "slopes of hills,'
and is applied to high grounds sloping down to water. The O'Neill
estate in the barony of Lower Toome, was called from it the territory
of "the Largie, or Munterkille," it received the latter name from
the Muinter Cheallaigh — "the family of Ceallagh," whose territory
was nearly all included in it. That estate, as we have seen p. 303,
was formed into the Manor of Cashell, which was so named from
one of the townlands now called Casheltown. At present the name
Largy is applied to Aughnahoy, Carmagrim, Killygarn, and Kilcurry.
The Shane's Castle O'Neills frequently gave temporary leases of
these townlands to different persons of their own name, under one
of these, Brian " of the Largy," lived in Kilcurry as a tenant under
his uncle, Sir Henry. Brian was the father of French John O'Neill.

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONE. 375

lough, from south-east to north-west, and ran through the
middle of the island. In cutting this part of the drain, the
workmen came upon several oak piles, which, on investiga-
tion, after the water of the lough was drained off, turned
out to be the ribs of a Crannog, situate in the centre of the
island. These piles were from seventeen to twenty feet
long, and from six to^eight inches thick, driven into the bed
of the lough, and projecting above this bed about five or six
feet. They were bound together at top by horizontal oak
beams, in which they were mortised, and secured in the
mortise by stout wooden pegs. Above the top of those piles
there was about three or four feet deep of earth ; and it was
only when this earth had been removed from time to time,
that the wooden structure was discovered in its integrity.
The piles were twenty-six in number, and were arranged in
a circle of about fifteen yards in diameter, in the centre of
the island, and just under where the stone house stood.
From the effect of cattle trampling over it, and persons
digging down in search of treasures, the island is
now reduced to the level of the surrounding ground. The
horizontal beams have been removed, and used for
various purposes. Not more than a dozen piles now
project above the surface, and that only about one or two
feet. The drain just formed a tangent to the circle of piles,
touching it upon the east where some of the piles were
dragged up on being laid bare. During the draining
operations a single-piece oak canoe was found about
thirty yards from the island, on the north-west side. It was
in tolerable preservation, and was removed to Portglenone
House, where it remained for some time, till Lord O'Neill
claimed and had it removed to Shane's Castle, where it is
said to be still in existence. The following articles have

376 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

been found in this island from time to time : — two iron
swords ; a small anvil, very bright and clean ; a pair of scales,
and several small hammers ; several gold pins ; metal dishes ;
small axe-heads ; an iron cauldron, of a low dilated shape ;
and a stone, of yellowish-white colour, beautifully polished,
about twelve inches long, three and a half broad, and two
thick, accurately squared at the sides, having a round hole
about an inch and a quarter deep, and half-an-inch in
diameter at each end, the top surface and one of the sides
being covered with carved devices. Lord O'Neill obtained
the swords ; the anvil, scales and hammers were sold by the
finder for trifling sums to a pedlar and rag gatherer ; the
iron cauldron is in use as a potatoe pot. A quern, also which
was found, is preserved in a neighbouring house. The
polished stone was given by the finder to a friend, to make
a " rubbing bone " for his web. It is stated that a few feet
below the present surface of the bed of the lough, a paved
causeway of stones, about five feet broad, leads from the
western margin of the lough across to the island. This
establishes a striking similarity between the Crannog and
some of the Swiss pfahlbauten."

CHURCHES.

Mass Stations. During the period of persecution, Mass
was celebrated at a place, in the townland of Killygarrin,
called Garry-more, which is in the farm of Felix Darragh.
The altar, which is still standing, is built of large stones and
sheltered by a great bush, but its principal protection is in
the veneration with which it is regarded by the people.
There was another similar altar at Lisnagarrin. Mass was
also celebrated at the Burial Ground in Killycoogan, and at

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONE. 377

the Mass Green in Tullynahinnion, but these Mass Stations
appear to have been used at a more remote date.

The erection of the chapel, called that of Aughnahoy,
though it is in the townland of Slievnagh, was commenced
in 1774, by Father Cassidy. He seems to have had then,
only a promise of a lease, which was granted, December 1st,
1779, by Charles Hamilton, Esq., of Portglenone Castle.
The lease which is for 999 years, at the annual rent of 6d ;
states that it contains 1 \ roods. The chapel was a strange con-
struction having two galleries one above the other ; it is
said that the upper gallery was erected to accomodate an
organ, which Mr. St. John O'Neill, who resided at Port-
glenone Castle, after Mr. Hamilton, bestowed to the chapel ;
the pipes of the organ, were, however, stolen by the
rebels in 1798.

The old chapel, which is now used as a mortuary chapel,
was replaced by the present church, which was erected by
Father M'Connell, who also erected the adjacent schools.
The church was dedicated under the invocation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate, on the 10th of Sep-
tember, 1871. The Parochial Residence, erected by Father
Hamill, and the church and schools stand on a plot of ground
containing 3 acres 3 roods and 22 perches, held under a
lease for ever, granted by the late Mr. Jones, of Moneyglass,
at the annual rent of £9 8s 6d. The site is close to the
town of Portglenone, and about a quarter of a mile from the
old church.

PARISH PRIESTS.

The Parish of Portglenone formed a part of the Parish of
Ahoghill, until October, 1866, when the Parish Priest,
Father M 'Court, was appointed to the Parish of Bally galget

378 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Portglenone was then severed from Ahoghill, and constituted
into a separate parish, to which Father M'Connell was
appointed. (For the Parish Priests, previous to 1866, see
under Ahoghill.

The Rev. John M'Connell was a native of the town of
Lisburn ; after studying in the Diocesan College, he entered
the Irish College, Paris ; was ordained in October, 1853 *
officiated as Curate in Loughinisland, Ballymena, Randals-
town, and Newtownards ; was appointed to Portglenone in
October, 1866 ; he died on the 18th of October, 1876, in the
49th year of his age, and was interred in the nave of the
Church of Portglenone, on the Gospel side.

Father Michael M'Cartan, P.P. Ahoghill, was appointed to
the vacant parish. He was a native of the town! and of
Dromena, in the Parish of Kilcoo, studied in the Diocesan
College; entered the Logic Class in the College of
Maynooth, August 25th, 1838 ; was ordained in the
College Chapel by Dr. Murray, on the 10th of June,
1843 ; was appointed Curate of Glenavy, from which he was
appointed Parish Priest of Derryaghy, in 1848 ; he left the
parish in 1855, through sickness, and after his recovery he
was appointed on the 16th of October, 1856, to Rathlin,
where he erected the church which was dedicated on the
22nd of August, 1865 ; he was appointed to the Parish of
Armoy and Ballintoy, in February, 1866, but immediately
afterwards obtained permission to exchange with his brother,
the Rev. Patrick M'Cartan, who was at the same time
appointed to the Parish of Ahoghill ; was appointed to the
Parish of Portglenone, in January, 1877 ; died of heart
disease, February 22nd, 1877, in the 57th year of his age,
and was interred in the nave of Portglenone Church, on the
Epistle side. •

THE PARISH OF PORTGLENONE. 379

The Rev. Patrick J. Hamill, the present Parish Priest,
succeeded Father M'Cartan. Father Hamill is a native of
Armagh, but removed at an early age with his family to
Belfast ; after studying in the Diocesan College, he entered
the Irish College of Paris, in September, 1863 ; was ordained
on Easter Sunday, 1868 ; officiated as Curate in Rasharkin,
Glenravel, and Belfast ; was appointed to Portglenone on
the 5 th of April, 1877.

Note — Sir Thomas Phillips, in a letter to Salisbury, dated Sept.
24th, 1609, says :—

"At Toome caused some of the ore to be sent for, of which he
caused a smith to make iron of before their faces, and of the iron
made steel within less than one hour. Mr. Broad, one of the agents
for the city (of London), who has skill in such things, says, that this
poor smith has better satisfied him than the Jarmaynes (Germans)
and others that presumed much of their skill. The ore is rich, for
they judge by what they see wrought that very near the sixth part
will be iron." — Cal. State Papers.

PARISH OF AHOGHILL.

THE Parish of Ahoghill extends over the entire civil
Parish of Ahoghill, with the exception of a small
district immediately adjoining Bally mena, which for a long
time has been annexed to the Parish of Ballymena, or
Kilconriola. Ahoghill also contains the civil Parish of
Craigs, except the townlands of Killyless, Lisnahunshin, and
Maboy ; and it has the townlands of Casheltown and
Drumraw, belonging to the civil Parish of Portglenone, and
the 425 acres of the townland of Ballybollen, which are in
the civil Parish of Drummanl.

The Church of " Achochill " is valued in the Taxation of
Pope Nicholas, at 20/-. In 1376, Paul, the rector of "the
Church of St. Colmanellus, of Atholrill," was elevated to
the See of Connor. Harris's Ware. Atholrill is evidently
a misreading for Achohill. A.D. 1376, "Adam Naas,
Clerk, has letters of presentation to the Church of Ohorill,
in Turtria, in the Diocese of Connor." Cat. Cane. Hib.
Adam Naas seems to have been promoted to the archdeaconry
of Kells, in the Diocese of Meath, before he took possession
of the parish, for three days later, William Wyne has letters
of presentation. Ibid. It would also appear that he did
not take possession of the parish, for on the 2nd of Sep-
tember, " John O'Neill, Clerk, has letters of presentation to
the Church of Acochill, of the Diocese of Connor." In 1441,
Patrick O'Kylt, perpetual vicar of Achioghill, was directed

THE PARISH OF AHOGHILL. 381

by the Primate to induct Thomas M'Kerny into the rectory
of the same ; and the principal parishioners, namely,
Mauritius Rufus (Murtagh Roe), O'Neyl, Odo Flavus (Aedh
Buidhe), Charolus Filius Donaldi Gracilis (Cathal Mac-
Dhomhnail Caoil), and Terentius Clericus O'Neyl, were
admonished to render him due respect. Register of Primate
Prene.

In 1458, John M'Molyn was rector of Gaghowill ; and
Patrick Olyzilt (O'Kylt, now O'Keelty), was confirmed by the
Primate, in the perpetual vicarage, in opposition to the
claims of John M'Lyrenan, who was supported by the
bishop. Reg. Prene — see Reeves' Eccl. Antiq. The Terrier
enters, " Ecclesia de Machochill hath 4 towns, Erenoth
Lands, and pays, Proxies, 20s; Refections, 20s. ; Synodals,
2s." In 1622, the Protestant Bishop reports, "Ecclesia de
Agohvill decayed." And in reference to the See-lands, he
says, " Item, the lands and mannor of Magherahoghill, set to
Ezechiel Davies* for LX years, for the rent of <£30 ster*
per annum, and now possessed by his executors." In the

* Davys was probably a member of the Davis family, of Carrick-
fergus. " Ezechiell Davis," in 1612, was one of the Sheriffs Of
Carrickfergus ; and, in 1678, " Ezekiell Da vies" was Mayor. The
name is still preserved in Mount Davys — the residence of the Rev.
Robert W. Rowan, in the townland of Cardonaghy. It is held in
perpetuity, by Deed, dated 9th of February, 1744, from Charles
Davys, of Hampstead, in the County of Dublin, to Brian M'Manus,
who was afterwards High Sheriff of Antrim. It had previously been
held in farm by Hercules M'Manus. In 1744, Charles Davys was
also seized of the lands of Dreen, Corbally, &c, which were after-
wards sold to Cadwallader Blaney, ancestor of Lord Blaney, and
again re-sold to Alexander M'Neile, of Ballycastle, Co. Antrim.
At the settling, in 1863, of the Shane's Castle estate, there is
enumerated " a chief ry of £10 per annum, out of the four townlands
of Carighdonaghy, viz. : Carrydunaghy, Corbally, Dreen, and
Lisfillen."

382 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Return of the See-lands, in 1833, published by the Eccle-
siastical Commissioners, it is stated that the four townlands
of Magherahoghill were let to Alexander M'Manus, under a
bishop's lease, for 21 years, with the implied condition of
renewal, at the yearly rent of £67 16s. lid., and an annual
renewal fine of £134 4s 9d.*

* Alexander M'Manus died January 4th, 1831 ; he was the last of
that name who held Cardonaghy or Mount Davys, and the Four
townlands of t Ahoghill ; they passed by inheritance and family
arrangement to the son of his eldest sister, the Rev. Robert W.
Rowan, the present proprietor. It is not easy to ascertain at what
period the M'Manus family settled in Ahoghill, they may have come
with the Davys family from Carrickfergus, where the name
frequently occurs in Civic Records, but the M'Manus family of
Ahoghill were Catholics until the middle of last century. That
they were long located in the district is testified by a monu-
mental stone, which was erected in the old Protestant Church,
and has been removed in 1865 to the new one. It is surmounted by
present arms of the family, and records that Bryan M'Manus of
Ballybeg, was interred there in 1705, and that eighty members
of the family had been previously interred in the same place.
The old house of Ballybeg, distant about \\ miles from Ahoghill,
portions of which remained within the memory of persons not long
■dead, was the residence of the family before they acquired Mount
Davys. The following letter is preserved in Her Majesty's Record
Office, Dublin : —

" Pursuant to a Proclamation lately issued from their Excellencies
the Lords Justices of the Kingdom, for seizing all serviceable horses
belonging to Irish Papists, and others therein mentioned. I do
hereby, as one of His Majestie's Justices of Peace, for the County of
Antrim, beg to acquaint their Lordships, that this day, two gueldings,
one aged about 10, the other about 4 ; one filly about two years old,
were delivered to me by John Hunter, a High Constable in the
County, and belonging to Oliver O'Hara, an Irish Papist ; a mare
about sixteen, a small black nag about 7, belonging to Mr. Patrick
Welsh, of Glenravel, delivered to me by the said High Constable ;
and a grey horse aged about 10 years, belonging to Mr. Daniel
M'Manus of Ahoghill Parish, an Irish Papist of this county — and the
whole horses worth £20 Sterl., and not one serviceable for horse or

THE PARISH OF AHOGHILL. 383

The four townlands of Ahoghill, which belonged to the
Bishops of Connor, are Carmacmoin, Gloonan, Killane and
Lismurnaghan ; on a portion of each of which the town of
Ahoghill stands. It is probable that the church-lands of
Ahoghill passed into the See property in the times of St.
Colmanellus, Bishop and Abbot of Connor, to whom the
church was dedicated. The old Protestant Church, in the
graveyard, occupied the site of the ancient church ; and
it seems that the foundations, and a little of the walls
belonged to the ancient church — every vestige of antiquity
is swept away — and the oldest tombstone is that of Hugh
Weir, of the date of 1697. See Ordnance Memoir MS.

In the townland of Ballylummin there is a well and the site
of a disused cemetery, called Killvaltagh ; it is in the farm
of John Mulholland. There is a tradition that stations were
formerly held here at Midsummer. M'Skimin's interleaved
Archdall, by mistake, calls the site of the ancient church
Gilvaltagh. Old people say that Kilvaltagh signifies the
li walled church," or " church walls."

It is probable that there is the site of some ecclesiastical
building in the townland of Ballyminstra, though every
attempt to discover it has hitherto failed.

There was an ancient graveyard, in what had been formerly
the Deerpark of Galgorm, now called Galgorm Park, it

dragoons ; however, being seized by the said High Constable and
now in my custody, I desire you to let me know their Excellencies
commands in the further disposal of them.

My most humble duty to their Excellencies,

I am your humble servant,

James Hamilton.

Newtownhamilton, Ballymenagh,
4th August, 1715."

384 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

occupied the summit of a small elongated hill, at the side of
the Main Water. The decayed boards of coffins have been
frequently dug up at it, though there is nothing now, says
the MS. Ordnance Memoir, to indicate the site, except a
Standing Stone and a Holy Well, which stands about 20
feet off, and is now nearly closed up. Pilgrimages were
formerly made to it, but they have long since ceased.
The burial ground, which was called Temple Moyle, extends
alonw the top of the hill, and contains an acre and a-half.
The Standing Stone is not in its original position. It
and another, which is now in a neighbouring ditch, formerly
stood on each side of the entrance, from which they were
removed, by the grandfather of the present tenant. It now
serves for a " rubbing post " for cattle. No trace of any
building, or of a surrounding wall, is recollected. An
extensive cave was formerly at the west side of the grave-
yard ; four silver coins were found in it, in 1834. See Ord.
Mem. MS. There is an old church, near Galgorm Castle,
but it is not supposed to be ancient — it seems to have been
erected for Protestant service.

In Cullybackey townland there is a collection of farm-
houses called Markstown, which stands on what was
formerly called Kilmakevit. The old cemetery is a small
field under tillage at the end of the village ; near it is a
spring-well, but regarding it there is no tradition, the Holy
Water font is built into the wall of one of the houses
adjoining the site of the cemetery. An artificial cave built in
the usual manner, runs underneath the village; it has many
apartments, one of them is 18 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 5
feet high. The site of the cemetery is in the farm of James
Given. Among the few Catholic inhabitants of the locality
there was a tradition that Kevit, who gave name to the place,

THE PARISH OF AHOGHILL. 385

had been a Druid,* who opposed St. Patrick, but was
eventually converted by him. Among the antiquities ex-
hibited in the Belfast Museum, in 1852, were ten square
ecclesiastical bells, exhibited by Mr. Johu Bell, of Dun-
gannon. The descriptive catalogue remarks — "One of these
small ancient Irish bells was found under a tree of black
oak, in a moss called Cullybackey, within three miles of
Bailymena, Co. Antrim, in May, 1745." Kilmakevit signi-
fies either " the church of the son of Cathbad " — (Cill-vic-
cathbaid), or "the Church of St. Cathbad" (Cill-mo-
Chathbad.) St. Colman, of Kilroot, was the son of one
Cathbad. See p. 82. The Tripartite Life of St. Patrick,
relating what he did in Dalriada, says, " In the territory of
the " Bace of Aengus," he erected the Church of Fothrad,
the direction and possession of which he confided to two of
his disciples, Cathbad, a priest, and Deman, a monk."
Colgan's note on this passage is — " Perhaps, from the person
mentioned here Loch-Cathbadh — ' the loch of Cathbad,' in
the neighbouring region of Dalaradia, takes its name." No
lake within the boundaries of ancient Dalaradia, as far as we
are aware, at present bears that name, but it is likely that
Kilmakevet is named from him, and the neighbouring
church of Aughnakeely (see p. 364), from the monk
Deman.

In the townland of Kildowney, there is the site of an old
graveyard ; human bones and the remains of coflins are fre-
quently turned up in it; and the grandmother of a person now
living used to relate, that she remembered seeing the bodies

* The story that Cathbad was a Druid, arises from the old bardic
stories relating to Cathbad the Druid, one of the companions of
Conchobhar MacNeassa, King of Ulster, under whom the heroes of
the Red Branch flourished about the period of the birth of Christ.

z

386 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

of children interred in it; it is in the farm of William
Torrens. An artificial cave occurs in the vicinity.*

Dean Reeves has given in the Journal of the Royal Hist,
and Archaeological Association of Ireland, Vol. I., 3rd Series,
illustrations of a portion of a bell-shrine, purchased by Mr.
Robert Day, of Cork, from a dealer in Ballymena, who
stated that it was found, together with a bullat (partly
broken) on the Bann shore. The fragment of the bell-
shrine is of bronze, overlaid with ornaments of gold and
silver, interspersed with enamels. An inscription, in raised
letters formed in the casting, runs as follows : —

Or do Ifaelbrigde las i ndernad occus do . . .do rigne.

" A prayer for Maelbrigde, through whom (it) was made
and for . . . who made (it)."

The name Maebrigde, — " Servant of Brigid," is of too
common occurrence to give much assistance in determining
the date, or the church, to which the bell-shrine belonged.
The A.nnals of the Four Masters record under the year 954
the death of " Maelbrighde, son of Redan, successor of
MacNeissi, and Colman-Eala ; " that is Bishop of Connor,
and Abbot of the Churches of Muckamore and Ahoghill.
Dean Reeves, however, thinks that the ornamentation on
the article indicates two centuries later than the year 945.

* Mr. W. J. Knowles, M.R.I. A., of Ballymena, supplied valuable
local information regarding Cullybackey and Kildowney.

f The Bulla is an article made of gold, or of some of the inferior
metals covered with a thick plating of gold. It is shaped like a
modern locket, but its chased ornamentation is that found on the
Irish ornaments of the most remote antiquity. The collection of the
Royal Irish Academy contains several of them, and an illustration of
one is given in the Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. I. , p. 180. They
will be found to have been small reliquaiies ; and the company, in
•which the one mentioned here, was found, almost proves that it was
a reliquary.

THE PARISH OF AH0GHILL. 387

There can, however, be no doubt that it belonged to some
church not far distant from the Lower Bann. Illustrations
of this fragment are also given in the 2d volume of Christian
Inscriptions in the Irish Language, edited by Miss Stokes.

The Ulster Inquisitions give a summary of a grant in
perpetuity, made by Henry O'Neill, of Edenduffcarrick, on
the 1st of August, 1622, to Hugh M'Lyrenan of Ballyliny
(Ballynaleney, in the civil parish of Drummaul). This
grant conveyed the lands called in the Inquisition Bally-
munyngan, Ballydumanameagh, and Glassiroman, in the
Tuogh of the Largy. The mistakes of transcribers have
rendered it impossible to make out the proper names of these
townlands. The Deed of Settlement of the O'Neill estates,
made in 1863, in which they are not much more accurately
transcribed, enables us to find out that they are BallylummiD,
Oarnearney, and Glassdrumin, It states that there is due
11 also the chiefry of £5 per annum out of the towns and
lands of Ballylimnie, Tersidernagh, and Glassidrumman."
Tersidernagh is 'the land of the fairy-mound of Erna/
There was in Carnearny a cairn, or moat, which was de-
stroyed in 1828, and in it was found an earthern urn. —
Ordnance Memoir MS. Paul M'Lorinan, who was shot at
his own door, on the 4th of February, 1772, by the Hearts
of Steel, was the last proprietor of Ballylummin of that
name. After his death it passed into female heirs, and
was sold by Mr Mark Devlin, of Newry, and the co-heirs,
to Mr. Thompson, in whose family it continues, being the
property of Mr. Thompson of Muckamore.

The Ulster Inquisitions give the summary of a grant
in perpetuity, made on the 20th of June, 1606, by
Shane MacBrian O'Neill, of Edenduffcarrick (Shane's
Castle) to his son John, or Shane Oge O'Neill, of the

388 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

townlands of Ballynenarny (Ballybollen), Ballyoughter-
cloney (Watercloney or Aughter- clooney), Ballydromraverd
(Drumramer), and Bally clonknocke (Kilknock). Shane Oge
died about 1616; Daniel O'Neill, his heir, was then
about eight years of age. |Daniel died June 10th, 1635,
and was succeeded by his brother, Henry O'Neill, who
was then twenty-two years of age, and unmarried. " Fore-
said are held of the King by Knights service, viz : —
the twentieth part of a Knights fee." — Ulster Inquis. The
Down Survey and Book of Distribution reports this Henry
O'Neill, an Irish Papist, as the proprietor in 1641 of
" Bally nabollan," one quarter which was in the parish of
Magherahoghill, and of Bally clonkeene. Henry O'Neill
having forfeited, f of Bally nabollan was distributed to Lord
Massereene, subject to a quit-rent of 10/2|, who also got
Ballykcloneene at a quit-rent of <£1 19s 7^d ; and the
remaining quarter of Ballynabollan was distributed to Captain
Ambrose Beadle, at a quit-rent of £4 8s 7|d. This Captain
Ambrose Beadle was the younger of the two surviving
sons of Dr. William Bedell, Protestant Bishop of
Kilmore, who was so popular with the Irish. Captain
" Ambrose Bedell, of Camohill, in the County of Cavan,"
by a deed dated, November 1st, 1667, declares that
" Ballybollan and the half of Ballybollan," having been
"set out to divers persons," were purchased from thera
by him ; and that he having had a certificate for these lands,
dated, May 8th, 1659, and letters patent, assigns his
interest in them, M for a valuable consideration " to Henry
O'Neill. In the 1863 settlement of the Shane's Castle
estate there is enumerated " a chiefry, of 40/- per annum,
out of the town and lands of Ballynabollin and Bally-
oterilony, all situate, lying and being in the Tuogh of

THE PARISH OF AHOGHILL. 389

Munterevidy." This was imposed in consequence of a
decree in the Court of Claims, which revived a chiefry
reserved in Shane MacBrian's grant to Shane Oge O'Neill,
and it is confirmed in the Letters Patent, dated, 15th
September, 36. Charles II. This Henry O'Neill was the
person who had entered into the rebellion and forfeited
his lands. John, his son and heir, who was High Sheriff
of the County of Antrim, married, on the 29th of June,
1678, Mary, daughter of Captain M'Donnell, of Moye,
in the County of Antrim. (Her sister, Ann M'Donnell,
was married, first to Colonel Evir Magennis, of Castle-
wellan, and afterwards to Daniel Magennis, of Droman
tine.) John O'Neill's son was named Ambrose, perhaps
in compliment to Ambrose Bedell ; he was a solicitor
of great practice, and married a daughter of the above-
mentioned Daniel Magennis (perhaps by his first marriage.)
Ambrose O'Neill died in 1753, he had four daughters,
the eldest of whom Bridget, called also Henrietta,
married Daniel O'Rorke,* of Dromahaire. They having

* Daniel O'Rorke, of Dromahaire, brought with him to Bally-
bollan a genealogy of his father, John O'Rorke, which is attested, on
the 10th of October, 1754, by Charles O'Connor, of Ballynagaire, by
the Archbishops of Dublin and Tuam, the Bishops of Ardagh,
Elphin, Clougher, and Ossory, a Notary Apostolic, the O'Connor
Don, and the O'Donnell ; the last is dated " Larkfield, 18th
of November, 1754." This lengthy genealogy is as follows, with the
exception that, what is inside the brackets is added from the
Four Masters : — "John O'Rorke, son of Owen, son of Brian, son of
John, son of Eugene, son of John, son of Malachy, sou of Art (elected
Chief in 1419), son of Tadhg-na-gur, son of Ualgharg (slain, 1346), son of
Domhnall, son of Auliffe ("Lord of Breifny, from the mountain west-
ward," died, 1258), son of Art (Lord of Briefny, was slain by Cormac
O'Melaghlin, 1209), son of Domhnall ("Lord of the greater part of
Breifny," died, 1207), son of Ferghall (slain 1157), son of Domhnall
(" Lord of Brief ne and Conmhaicni, and of all Connaught for a time,

390 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

purchased the interests of her sisters, became possessed of
all her father's property; their son Ambrose O'Rorke,
married Ellen, daughter of Daniel O'JSTeill, of Bally ministra,.
by -whom he was father of Daniel O'Rorke, whose surviving
sons are Ambrose, D.L. J.P., late High Sheriff of the
County of Antrim, and Alexander and Daniel, Solicitors.

In the bog of Ballybollan oak stakes, forming a great
stockade, were found ; their ends had been sharpened by a
clean-cutting instrument. There was also found in the same
bog a wooden churn, hollowed out of a single piece of wood *
it is in the writer's collection ; a drawing of it is given in
the Ulster Journal of Archceology, Vol. "VII.

In the bog in the neighbouring townland of Kilknock is a
crannoge, which is mentioned in the Antrim Inquisition,
1605. It was the crannoge, or artificial island, to which the
inhabitants of the Tuogh of Muntir Rividy, a district extending
over the civil parishes of Drummaul, Shilvodan, that part of
Connor south of the Kells Water, and those parts of Ahoghill
and Antrim which lie in the barony of Upper Toome (see
jReeves's Eccl. Antiq.), carried their women and children
during times of danger.*

At Gracehill there is an artificial cave, which was formerly
open, but it is now closed up. It consists of a long passage

was slain by the Conmhaicni themselves," A.D., 1102), son of Tighear-
nan, son of Ualgharg, son of Niall, son of Art Oirdnighe, son of Aodh,
son of Sen-Ferghal (O'Rorke, King of Connaught, was slain, a.d. 964),
son of Art, son of Ruarc. " Ruarc, son of Tighernan, Lord of Briefne,
died, a.d., 893, from him the O'Rorkes take their hereditary
surname. The genealogy afterwards continues up through eighteen
generations to Eochaidh Muighmheadhain (pron. Eochy Moyvayin),
King of Ireland, in the year 366, who was also father of Niall, of the
Nine Hostages.

* This was omitted by mistake when treating of the parish of
Drummaul.

THE PARISH OF AHOGHILL. 391

divided at intervals by low doorways. Gracehill is the name
given to the village erected in the townland of Ballykennedy,
by the Moravians, a sect established by a German, Count
Zinzendorf, who died in 1760. A colony of this sect was
estabHshed in Ireland, about the year 1746, by one of their
ministers, named Cennick. In 1755 they obtained from
Charles O'Neill, of Shane's Castle, a lease, renewable for
ever, of their present holding.

A small eminence, in the townland of Cardonaghy, within
the demesne of Mount Davys, contains a number of
remarkable caves, and is obviously the site of an early
village. In Dreen, there is, near the Main Water, a fort or
rath, which has a cave; and there is, in the adjoining town-
land of Moy asset, a similar rath, which also contains a cave.
There is a Standing Stone in the townland of Corbally, on
the side of the high road to Mount Davys, and there is
another, 4= feet high, 5 feet broad, and 2 feet thick, in the
ditch of the road, a few yards from the bridge of Cullybackey.
See Ordnance Memoir MS. These were evidently intended
to guide travellers, in ancient times, along the badly denned
road.

The portion of the parish of Ahoghill which lay to the
east of the Main Water, together with present civil parish
of Kilconriola, constituted the Tuogh of Clanagherty.

The Fort Hill in Moylarg, is an abrupt hill rising from
the side of the Main River to the height of 70 feet, a part
of it is cut off by a shallow ditch, which forms it into an
Irish Rath of a triangular form If chains long from the
ditch to the vertex ; a precipice sloping suddenly to the
river bounds it on two sides. The ditch is 30 feet broad,
and the rampart, which is made of earth, is 10 feet high.

The Antrim Inquisition of 1605, when describing the

392 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

Tuogh or territory of G-lenagherty, says, — " There is also in
the same tuough, a certain lake, or pool, called Lough-
inch efeaghny, in which there is an island similarly fortified."
This crannoge, or artificial island, which up to the beginning
of the seventeenth century, served as the capital of Glen-
agherty, and which formed the fortified place of retreat for the
inhabitants, is described by Dr. Reeves, in a communication
read before the Eoyal Irish Academy. " About two miles
and a half north-north-west of Ballymena, the new road to
Ballymoney passes through the townland of Loughmagarry,
having on the right a low-lying rank meadow, which in
winter becomes very moist. This was formerly a lake, until
it was drained in the latter half of the last century, by Mr.
Hugh Campbell, of Ballygarvey, the tenant under Mr.
Adair. The island stood at the side of the lake remote
from the new road, and near the eastern margin, where the
bank rises rather suddenly from the hollow. It is now
merely a knoll, resembling a little gravel hill; but it is fresh
in the recollection of the neighbours, that it was a stockaded
island, having an external framing of oak piles, and the
interior composed of gravel and clay. It is stated that
several articles of curiosity have been found here, but time
has dispersed them all. The name of the townland bears no
resemblance to that in the inquisition, but the large town-
land which joins Loughmagarry on the west, and of which
it appears to have been a sub-denomination, is called the
Fenagh, that is Fiodhnach (pronounced Feenagh), and
formerly gave name to the whole. The Loughinchefeaghny
of the inquisition is a compound of Loch-inse-fiodhnaighy
11 lake of the island of Feenagh."*

* It is remarkable that the Crannoges of Derryhollagh, in the
territory of Feevagh, Kilknock in the territory of Muntir-Eividy,

THE PARISH OF AHOGHILL. 393

The traces of the ruins ot an old castle, called the Castle
of Etory Oge MacQuillan, remains in the townland of Gal-
gorni. It stood on a low ground near the main water. It
appears to have been built on an Irish rath. The foun-
dations are on the top of a circular platform, the diameter of
which is a chain and a half ; a fragment of the foundation
yet remains, it is 9 feet thick. Outside the ditch, on the
east side, is an irregular triangular eminence, on which ic
is said the castle chapel, a cruciform building, formerly
stood. Local tradition attributes the destruction of the
castle, to the " Wars of 1641." Ord. Survey MS.

The territory of Clanagherty was granted to Rory Oge
MacQuillan, says Chichester (See Mussel's and Prendergast's
Calendar, first series.) " In consideration of the loss of his
inheritance, disposed of by his Majestie to Sir Randolphe
MacDonnell," but if the wily Sir Arthur had only told the
truth, he allotted this territory to MacQuillan, in considera-
tion that he surrendered to himself the more extensive
territory of Inishowen. The grant from the king to
MacQuillan, is dated March 10th, 1608. In it the territory
of Clanagherty is described as bounded on the north by the
River Glanrawree (Ravel), on the west by the Myn-water,
which separates it from Muntercallie, until it joins the river
Owenbrade (the Braid-river), which river separates it from
the Tuogh Kearte, until it joins the Owendivinagh, or
River Divinagh, thence the Braid separates it from the
Tuogh of Muntermurrigan, until it joins the river Agha-
dowey, which, for about a mile separates this territory from

Lough-Tammin in Muntircally, and Loughnagarry in the territory
of Clanagherty, are situated near the northern boundaries respec-
tively of these territories, as if the approach of the foe was expected
from the south.

394 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

that of Knockboynabrade, to the ford of Aghadowey ; and
so about a mile and a half through the midst of a bog there;
and so by the east and north foot of the Ciburrane (Craigy-
warren 1) situate in this tuogh, upon the border of the
Glynnes. " The yearly rent £5 Irish, to find and maintain
every year for the space of forty days, two able horsemen
and six footmen, to serve when required within the Province
of Ulster. To hold for ever, in cajrite, by the twentieth part
of a knight's fee." Pat. Rolls, James I. MacQuillan, eleven
years afterwards transferred these lands to a nephew of
Chichester, Sir Faithful Fortescue, who, on the 30th of
May, 1619, obtained a grant of them from the Crown, on the
conditions of the grant to MacQuillan; Fortescue shortly
afterwards sold Clanagherty to William Edmonston, of
Redhall, and William Adair. The part of it, which fell to
Adair, is now in the possession of his descendant, Lord
Waveney. William Edmonston sold his half to Dr.
Alexander Colville,* whose great-grand-daughter, Alicia

* Alexander Colville, D.D., was a Scotchman, and a family con-
nection of the Protestant Bishop, Echlin, who probably induced him
to come to Ireland. Dr. Colville resided at Galgorm, which was
called, for a time, Mount Colville. He became possessed of immense
wealth, which his Presbyterian neighbours supposed was obtained
by sorcery— they even said that he sold himself to the devil. The
Eev. Robert Law, in his Memorials or Memorable Things, <bc. , from
1638 to 1684, p. 219, tells a curious and amusing story of a woman
who had lived as a servant in the house of Dr. Colville, and who, on
her removal to Scotland, was employed as servant in the house of
Major-General Robert Montgomery, of Irvine : — "There being some
things],of silver work'stollen in that house from his lady, there is a
servant woman of their own they blame for them ; the lass,
being innocent, takes it ill, and tells them if she should raise the
devil she would know who took the things that were missed, which
they let pass lightly as a rash word ; but she, being resolute, was as
good as her word ; and on a day goes down to a laich cellar, takes
the Bible with her, and draws a circle about her, and turns a riddle

THE PARISH OF AHOGHILL. 395

Colville married Stephen Moore, afterwards Viscount
Mountcashel. The Colville estates, then belonging to her

on end twice from south to north, or from the right to the left hand
having in her hand nine feathers which she pulled out of the tail of
a black cock ; and having read the 51st (?) forward, she read back-
wards chapter ix. verse 19 of the Book of the Revelations, he appears
in seamen's cloathing, with a blew cap, and asks what she would ;
she puts one question to him, and he answers it ; and she casts
three of the feathers at him, charging him to his place again ; then
he disappears at this time. He seemed to her to rise out of the
earth to the middle body. She read again the same verse backward,
the second time, and he appears the second time rising out of the
ground, with one leg above the ground ; she asks a second question,
and she casts other three feathers at him, charging him to his place ;
he again disappears. She reads again the third time the same verse
backward, and he appears the third time with his whole body above
ground (the last two times in the shape of a grim man in black
clothing, and the last time with a long tail) ; she asks a third
question at him, and casts the last three feathers at him, charging
him to his place ; and he disappears. The major-general and his
lady being above stairs, though not knowing what was a working,
were sore affraid, and could give no reason of it, the dogs of the city
making a hideous barking round about. This done, the woman, in
aghast, and pale as death, come3 and tells her lady who had stolen
her things she missed, and that they were in such a chest in her
house, belonging to some of the servants, which, being searched, was
found accordingly. Some of the servants suspecting her to be about
this work, tells the major of it, and tells him they saw her go down
to the cellar. He lays her up in prison ; and she confesses, as ia
before related, telling him that she had learned it in Dr. Colvin's
house in Ireland, who used to practise this. This was a high
tempting of God. From this anecdote, and others of a like nature, it
would seem that Satan is fond of appearing in blue. " — See Montgomery
Manuscripts, edited by Rev. G. Hill. The Scotch colonists carried
over to the County of Antrim, as firm a belief in the power of witches,
as James lstor his Witch-finder general was gifted with. Mr. Hillrefers
to the famous case of witchcraft in which the Rev. James Shaw,
Presbyterian Minister of Carnmoney, and his wife were victims.
The second and last execution in Ireland, for the crime of Witchcraft,
took place at Antrim in 1699— (See a rare pamphlet, entitled, The

396 DIOCESE OF CONNOR.

great-grand-son, the Earl of Mountcashel, were sold in 1851
by the Commissioners of Encumbered Estates. (See p. 288.)
The Galgorm estate is described in the advertisement.

" The estate is divided into the following denominations or town-
lands : — Galgorm, Galgorm Parks, Fenaghy, part of Brocklimont,
Tullygarley (East and West), part of Carniny, Teeshan, Artibrannon,
Bally close, Cullybackey, Dunnygarron,Broughdone, Fenagh, Moylarg,
Ballywatermoy, Tullygrawly, Crankhill, Kildowney, Carnleagh and
Tullyreagh ; and produces a rent of £3,641 14s. 3d., and is subject
to the Crown's quit rent of £5 14s. 6d., to an annual payment of
£31 10s. Od., for ever, to the incumbent of Kilconriola, and to the
rent charge amounting to £125 14s. Od. ; all said charges together
amounting to £162 18s. 6d."

PARISH PRIESTS.

Rev. Henry O'Diffin, aged 51 years, was registered in
1704, as Parish Priest of Ahoghill ; he then resided at

Bewitching of a Child in Ireland). At the Spring Assizes of 1711,
four women were tried in Carrickfergus, for bewitching Mary
Dunbar, in Island Magee ; they were sentenced to be imprisoned
twelve months, and to stand four times in the pillory in Carrick
fergus. It is not forty years ago since a professed witch named
M 'Clean, but better known as " Highland Kate," brought a lawsuit,
which was tried in the Court-House of Coleraine, against Mr.
Alexander, Presbyterian Minister of Ballyrashane, who, after having
employed her to cure his cows, refused to pay her fees. A Catholic,
in the Parish of Ahoghill, who inherited from his Presbyterian
ancestors the charm for curing men and animals bitten by mad
dogs, told me how he effected "the cures" — "I make five
balls of barley -bread, and over them I say the Lord's Prayer
the Hail Mary, and I Believe in God, then, kneeling, I put the five
balls of bread into their mouths, saying : — ' A Grew (Greyhound)^
Earth, Air, Fire, Water. May this good blood not be corrupted by
that bad blood, Amen."' On being asked did his Presbj'terian
relatives use the Hail Mary and the Creed, he replied, — "No, I
added them, for they are good prayers." This man was sent for to
every part of the Counties of Antrim and Deny, to " cure " men and
animals. About the year 1854 I obtained from a young man in

THE PAEISH OF AHOGHILL. 397

Ahoghill ; had received orders, in 1678, at Ardpatrick, from
Primate Oliver Plunket. In 1704, his bailsmen were
Francis Hume, of Ahoghill, Gent., and William Adaire, of
Bally monstragh, Gent., each of whom bailed him in £50.
We have no record to inform us when Father O'Diffin, or
O'Duffin, died, but it is certain from tradition that his
remains were interred in the ancient cemetery of Ahoghill.

The remains of the Rev. Michael O'Duffin was interred in
the same graveyard, he was a native of the Parish of Ahog-
hill ; he died young and never was a parish priest.

Shiel officiated in this parish, and seems to have

succeeded O'Duffin ; he resided within a mile of Ahoghill,
along the old road, which led to Portglenone, not far from
the residence of Alexander M'Manus, of Ballybeg, who had
been, in 170i, surety for Rev. Patrick Hamill, P.P.,Layde,
Rev. Patrick M' Garry, P.P., Armoy, and Rev. Patrick
O'Scullion, P.P., Bally scullion (Diocese of Derry.) To the
honour of Ahoghill be it said, that seven out of the eighteen
priests of the County of Antrim, in 1704, obtained from the
gentlemen or yeomen of Ahoghill at least one of the sureties
required by the jealousy of the law. Henry O'Diffin, P.P.,

Cullybackey, a charm, which had been laid by one of his Presbyterian
neighbours, for the rats, but as they did not take it, it is at present
in my possession, and is as follows : —

SA TOR,

APERO,

TENET,

OREPA,

ROTAS.
By virtue of the above 1 do hereby authorize all the Black, White
Grey, and Norway Rats to depart from this place to (here is some-
hieroglyphic). I have mentioned the religion of these persons,
merely because the ancestors of the Presbyterians of the County of
Antrim came from Scotland, where these superstitions were so
prevalent. .

398 DIOCESE OF CONNOE.

Ahoghill, was bailed by William Adaire, of Ballyminis-
tra, and by Francis Hume, of Ahoghill ; the latter gentle-
man bailed Neale O'JSTeale (or O'Hale), P.P., Rasharkin,
Christopher M'Vagk (M'Vey), P.P., Dunluce, and John
M'Ginn, P.P., Ballyclug, Skerry, and Racaven. Robert
Nichol, Gent., of Ahoghill, was one of the sureties for
Patrick M'Garry, P.P., Armoy.

The grave of Father Shiel, in the old graveyard of
Ahoghill, was well known a few years ago.*

* The Rev. John Lynch, then Parish Priest of Ahoghill, now of
Ballyrnena, in a letter to the late Mr. John W. Hanna, dated,
" Ahoghill, 10th February, 1846, says— "Rev. Henry O'Duffin, P.P.
in 1704, a relative I find of my own, by my maternal great-grand-
father, is buried in Ahoghill Graveyard. Rev. Shiel succeeded ;

his relatives, now surviving, are Presbyterians, residing within a
half-a-mile of Ahoghill, on the Portglenone Road ; the house he
occupied is pointed out within two or three fields of the house occu-
pied by one of the Rev. H. O'Duffin's bailsmen, Mr. M'Manus, of
Ballybeg. He, as well as the Rev. H. O'Duffin, was a native of the
parish, but where educated, or when ordained, I cannot find out.
His grave in Ahoghill Church-yard is pointed out ; I had it opened
in search of the upper half of the headstone (which is broken off),
but without success. There is a tradition here, that an apostate

priest, named M'Lorinan, came to Rev. Shiel, when he was

about to celebrate Mass at Ballybeg, to be reconciled to the Church,
that M'Lorinan went away without complying with the conditions
which Mr. Shiel required, and that he refused to celebrate Mass
while the apostate priest was present, that M'Lorinan died on a
side car, with a winnow-cloth spread about him, at Ballindrade
Ford, on his return to Carrickfergus. The Rev. Stephen Grant, a
native of Co. Down, resided in Torbitstown ; where educated, or by
whom ordained, I cannot find. It was he who attended Paul
M'Lorinan, who was shot in his own door by the Hearts of Steel ;
he died about two y ears after the Rev. Peter Cassidy came to the
parish, and was buried in Ahoghill ; he is believed to have been
parish priest 45 years." From this most interesting letter of Father
Lynch, I am almost convinced, that the Rev. Shiel, P.P., Ahog-
hill, is the Most Rev. James Shiel, Bishop of Down and Connor.

THE PAEISH OF AHOGHILL. 399

The Rev. Stephen Grant, a native of the County of Down,
and it is thought, of the townland of Letalien, in the Parish
of Kilcoo, succeeded Father Shiel, who died in 1725.
Father Grant lodged in Torbitstown, in the townland of
Ballylummin, in the house of a man named Neeson, the
father of a locally celebrated character called Trooper Neeson.

Paul M'Lorinan was shot in February, 1771. Father Cassidy was,
as we will see, ordained in 1768.